Another Glass of Whine?

In the midst of being pissed off that my retirement bounty has been pirated by financial institutions, how other consumers are coping was brought sharply into focus by a news report lamenting that the upper echelon of our consumer base is suffering too. According to the reporter, affluent shoppers can cut costs by foregoing the purchase of designer shoes, which can easily pop between $450 and $750 a pair.

I know it's hard to believe, but that is one ginormous cost-cutting strategy that never occurred to me. I'd have to add to the cost-cutting agenda buying designer knock-offs, rather than the real deal, which can also save thousands of dollars. Of course, with my shopping usually happening at the big box stores, I probably won't be quite as concerned as the mall hoppers about scrimping and saving just to buy a pair of last season's Jimmy Choo's, but you never know. This may be the year that I throw shopping caution to the wind and take a stroll through El Paseo, the desert's answer to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, shoring up the economy as any good citizen should do by leaving in my wake a flowing stream of hundred dollar bills and thousand dollar credit card purchases that I may not be able to pay off when the bills arrive.

None of us had any idea that the economy was going to get this bad, but lo and behold, here it is. I'm not going to look as enthusiastically at holiday gifts this year, no matter how tantalizing the wrapping, knowing as I now do that the contents may be cheap imitations, rather than the real deal. Diamonique, instead of glass-cutting carats, could ruin my day!