Mon 30 Nov 2009
A Family Member Gets Sacked
Posted by RichSlick under Observations
Comments Off on A Family Member Gets Sacked
Well just when I thought the tide was turning, I found out that a family member was sacked today. The company evidently laid off 40 people today and may do more in the future.  I still have quite a few friends unemployed and some are beginning to run out of unemployment so I wonder what is coming next.
I ended up heading to a couple of stores during Black Friday to check out the situation. I am in the market for a new LCD TV but I was in no way going to buy over the weekend. My plan is to get the really good deals AFTER Christmas but if retailers get smart (or desperate) I might buy before x-mas.
I stopped off at Costco and saw moderate traffic and quite a few people were looking at LCD/Plasma TVs. Most of the other aisles were fairly empty except for the food aisles.  Next stop was Target and I was moderately surprised that there weren’t many people there either.  I must also note that I went to these stores after noon and not in the wee hours of the morning so I’m not sure if I missed the big crowds or not.
My last stop for the day was a big electronics chain Fry’s and the parking lot was fairly packed but most people who were walking out didn’t carry many bags. The TV section had plenty of people but most of the other aisles were empty.
I’m guessing that TVs are the big gift this year for people and I suspect that more entertainment hours will consist of RedBox DVD rentals or maybe video games than heading out to the theater or restaurants.   I’ve decided that AFTER Christmas I will return to a more modest posture with regards to spending money.  I’ve waited nearly two years to buy some items like that new LCD TV and I really don’t want to wait another year.  With my student loan money rolling in this August and a new batch of funds rolling in January at very low interest rates, I have plenty of cushion.   I also am overloaded with projects at work so I doubt there is any layoff in my future but anything can happen.