Consumers are notoriously fickle in their allegiances and interests -- remember those food-assembly kitchens that were all the rage a few years ago? But the recession has sobered buying habits, and increasingly, more companies are viewing Americans' recent conversion to thrift as a long-term trend, not simply flash-in-the-pan fascination.

In an attempt to cash-in on this new sensibility, businesses are keen on promoting their products as a good deal. That's why, for example, Clorox Co. isn't raising prices on its improved trash can liners and Campbell Soup Co. has reduced the promotional price of its V8 brand vegetable juice by 17%, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

As he nears the end of the line for his Man in a Van Project, Aaron Heideman of Grants Pass, Ore. has only begun to process the stories he gleaned from his cross-country recession odyssey. After losing jobs himself due to the sour economy-not once, but twice-the 29-year-old set out to chronicle the tales of people whose lives have been affected by the Great Recession. From Florida to California and many points in between, people scrawled their stories onto a large roll of Tyvek paper. Some even scrawled notes and missives on the van itself, turning it into a rolling chronicle of continued economic woe, and the hope that survives amidst it.

In an exclusive interview with WalletPop, Heideman discussed the project, what it's meant to him and what comes next for a young man who, for now, still lives in his orange Dodge van, hoping to land permanent employment soon.

All your life you wanted to do something outlandish for a living. But that cushy corporate gig and the frills attached to it stopped you from turning your passion into a profession.

Enter recession, pink slips and voila your ticket to be your own boss.

Unemployed folks are taking the leap of faith and investing their time, energy and resources into entrepreneurial ventures. Yes, believe it or not, new entrepreneurs are on the upswing in this downward spiraling economy. While some took that layoff as an excuse, many are jump starting new ventures out of necessity.

Last year, the hemorrhaging economy cost 2.6 -million jobs, the highest tally in more than six decades. The bloodletting hasn't stopped yet. But laid off employees are moving on. They are providing that silver lining to an otherwise gloomy environment.

With more than $40,000 in credit card debt and more than 20 credit cards to her name, Diana Ryan didn't think she had a problem -- even though her husband had no idea just how many pieces of plastic she had tucked in her wallet. "It sounds cliche," Ryan says, "but I thought I could stop at any time."

But the lure of special offers and other card deals was much stronger than Ryan's willpower. "I couldn't say no when a cashier asked if I wanted to open a new card to get an instant in-store savings or receive a new promotion," she says.

Ryan represents a growing number of Americans who've passed the point of merely overspending and have entered into the realm of addiction. And, in doing so, they're maxing out a record number of credit cards.

This Sunday evening, Food Network star Sandra Lee appears as a volunteer on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and she'll be pitching in to collect something she knows a lot about: canned foods.

Lee has crafted a mini-empire out of her DIY advice that teaches people to take economical shortcuts with pre-packaged foods. Her expertise runs from gardens to drapes -- she helms two Food Network shows, Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee and Sandra's Money Saving Meals, a magazine (Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade), and three recently released books, Weeknight Wonders, Money Saving Slow Cooking, and Cocktail Time. And, of course, on ABC this Sunday, when she helps re-make the lives of some dedicated community volunteers.

In a video chat with WalletPop's Jason Cochran, Lee talks candidly about her youth spent on food stamps and working in food banks with her grandmother.

Back in January 2009, the Chicago Tribune asked me to have my family finances revamped by a series of experts. The exercise proved challenging, to say the least: Baring your financial foibles to the world is like waving a red flag in front of every hater on the Internet, and then begging them to ridicule you for foolish purchases and the like.

But it also proved a boon that I wouldn't take back for anything. It allowed me to pick the brains of some very smart money people in my quest to get the Good Ship Carlozo righted and sailing toward financial security. One of those experts, Julie Murphy Casserly, a Chicagohealers.com wealth and asset specialist. Casserly gave me the most to think about in terms of my wasteful habits. (Like: Eating out for lunch every day.)

Casserly thinks most families mired in the Great Recession -- the longest economic downturn since the Great Depression -- can save $500 or more a month by making a few simple adjustments. So if you're still struggling to manage and cut down your household budget, here's how you can do it -- making small changes with variable expenses such as groceries, food, clothing, shopping and entertainment:

The Great Recession of 2008 and 2009 has hurt not just the everyday working person, but also those who harbored big dreams in real estate, only to see fortunes vanish as the bubble burst. In this Recession Diaries special, developer Paul Pierce, whose name has been changed, shares his story of boom-to-bust through exclusive WalletPop interviews and excerpts from the diary he began writing hours after the biggest deal of his career fell through -- leading to losses in excess of $40 million.

On Saturday, Nov. 1 -- All Saint's Day, as he knew from his Catholic upbringing -- Paul Pierce walked into a Philadelphia Rite Aid store, plunked down two bucks, and bought a notebook with a marbled red-and-white cardboard cover: the kind grade school students use to do homework.

Then he returned to his luxury home in the Society Hill neighborhood just a few blocks away, a double-lot house that developers like Pierce dream of building or buying for their families once they hit it big.

His stomach in a knot, he sat alone at the island in his spacious, modern urban kitchen, and scrawled:

The Great Recession of 2008 and 2009 has hurt not just the everyday working person, but also those who harbored big dreams in real estate only to see fortunes vanish as the bubble burst. In this Recession Diaries three-part special, developer Paul Pierce (whose name has been changed) shares his story of boom to bust through exclusive WalletPop interviews and excerpts from the diary he began writing hours after the biggest deal of his career fell through -- leading to losses in excess of $40 million.


On Saturday, Nov. 1, -- All Saint's Day, as he knew from his Catholic upbringing -- Paul Pierce walked into a Philadelphia Rite Aid store, plunked down two bucks and bought a notebook with a marbled red-and-white cardboard cover, the kind grade school students use to do homework.

Then he returned to his luxury home in the Society Hill neighborhood just a few blocks away, a double-lot house that developers like Pierce dream of building or buying for their families once they hit it big.

His stomach in a knot, he sat alone at the island in his spacious, modern urban kitchen, and started scrawling:

A little more than a year ago, Daniel Seddiqui was just another post-college grad with an economics major from USC -- the "U" perhaps standing in his case for Unlucky in the job market, Unable to find full-time work, Unemployed after 40 interviews.

So, perhaps figuring that 50 outranks 40, Seddiqui set an outlandish goal: working 50 jobs in 50 states in 50 weeks. His parents thought he was nuts. Friends tried to talk him out of it. Walletpop even wrote a story on his plan. And as for nightmares about sleeping on park benches? "That was a daymare," Says Seddiqui, 27.

In these recessionary times, patrons of Hooters are more interested in eying their wallets than scantily clad waitresses, or so it would seem.

The Atlanta-based restaurant chain, better known for its buxom waitresses than its cuisine, is joining the gaggle of casual-dining establishments in offering a value-priced menu in the hope of drawing more... umm, clientele.

Seeing as the NFL regular season is nearly underway and testosterone is hanging heavy in the air, the new menu features a football theme, says Hooters. It's a seasonal menu for the fall.

Walletpop's fashion recessionista, Holly Getty, tells you how to answer the call of fall--shopping, that is:

"You will soon be spending. Did you know that? Fall items are filling the stores and you're gonna want something new, trust me. The trick is how to direct your dollars. Spend on shoes (you've heard this before). If you are only able to spend on only one item, shoes are it.

"Good shoes can transform jeans and a tee into a statement. More importantly, shoes are the best and fastest way to communicate your style and personality. You know when something is so your own, people say it looks like you? Say your dog. Well, your shoes should say the same thing. Because of their transformative powers, you want to buy shoes that look like "(insert your name here) shoes". That is why they are worth the search, worth the investment.

"Another thing to lay some Benji's down for is a great pair of sunglasses. I say this now because they are currently on sale. Go to the stores you have always wanted to go to but never thought you could afford and check out what they have. This is time to get your designer fix on. Putting on a flattering pair of well designed sunglasses is the facial equivalent of putting on a great pair of shoes. Stimulate the economy and look good doing it."

Holly Getty is known for helping individuals liberate their personal style and create a signature look that allows them to feel good in any situation while working within their budget.

It's two-thirds of a day by plane to slingshot halfway around the world from Chicago to Seoul, South Korea -- a monumental distance, by any reckoning, to escape the throes of the Great Recession.

But when Elizabeth Groeschen, a single 26-year-old Kentucky native, couldn't get anything going on the employment front, she decided to leave Chicago and return to Seoul, where she had spent two years traveling and working through 2008. And to hear Groeschen tell it, the everyday hazards of South Korean life -- everything from North Korean weapons tests to swine flu quarantines for travelers -- were worth braving to recover the sense of hope she'd lost trying to pursue her photography dreams in America.

"I had a free flight to Korea, a settlement allowance, free time to work on my photography and writing, four weeks of paid vacation and a bonus after completing the year contract," says Groeschen, who's teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in Seoul through 2010. "Then there's the convenience of life in Korea: walking to work, [free] school lunches ... and I found an affordable dance studio membership."

A church-going, affable graduate of Loyola University Chicago, Groeschen by no means fits the stereotype of a young, disgruntled American expatriate looking for the high life. Last year, she enrolled in Chicago's School of the Art Institute to gain more experience in photography, and found a job working for a production company.

Then came 2009, with a series of dark dominoes toppling in Groeschen's financial life. Let go from her job in January, she was then unable to qualify for financial aid at school, having lost her full-time student status. What savings she had left depleted in mere weeks and, as she put it, "I fell into a deep economic and emotional slump."

The cult hit infomercial product Snuggie -- the infamous blanket with arms -- has already come up with a kid version and now it's branching into the non-human market.

Meet Snuggie for dogs. Now your pooch can look as, or even more ridiculous than, his or her owner, as you walk together down the street adorned in matching outfits.

Wait, there's more. Not only do you get one Snuggie for Rover you get a second one free. OK, you still have to pay $14.95 to get the thing and another $7.95 shipping and handling. That's about $23.

Wait, there's still more. You also can get a recordable dog tag that allows the owner to record messages and tie them around their dog's neck. The possibilities are endless. "Yes, this is a Snuggie, Yes, I am a dog." "No, we're not in a cult, we just look like we are."

President Obama and Congress approved the recent $700 billion stimulus package for one crucial reason: to provide jobs.

Now, states and other recipients of this windfall are struggling to launch thousands of projects that won't be sufficiently mature enough to provide jobs for some time.

Yet there was a way that this money could have been put to work immediately, with a guarantee that it would have a dramatic impact on the nation's employment figures.

We should have given it to our social service agencies.

In states like Ohio, public health agency programs and staff have been cut to the quick, throwing thousands of people out of work. Meanwhile, one of the few local American Recovery Act road projects to break ground has provided work for 13 workers to date.

It does no good to create 100 new jobs when 10,000 lose theirs because of state revenue shortfalls. It does no good to sit on piles of cash waiting month after month for paperwork to trickle through the system.