Recession? What recession?

If you're one of the beautiful people who shop on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, you're not seeing the effects of $4 dollar gasoline or higher food costs. None of that is putting a furrow into your already Botox'd brow. Because the weather is sunny here and the shopping is divine.

There's no slowdown in sales here, folks. Move along. Nothing to see.

I suppose for sheer entertainment value, it's worth knowing this sort of fact: that there are people out there so wealthy...beyond wealthy...that no amount of economic turmoil affects them. Hard to imagine the global credit crisis not crimping the portfolios of the financier class, but then I'm sure they've socked away a few pennies for a rainy day.

Which I suppose is a good thing, if you look at it. The spending of the ultra-wealthy helps drive the economy (and at this point, it can use all the fuel it can get). Some reports say the wealthy are cutting back spending as well. But a survey cited here looks at those with an average income of $200,000. That's not wealthy. Any third year associate at a white-shoe law firm makes that. It's the gentry I'm talking about. The moguls and superstars and legacy families. The multi-millionaires and billionaires. And their families.

These people don't need to cut back. Which will at some level keep some juice flowing into the economy. Somebody has to sell those wives their $120,000 Hermes Matte crocodile Birkin Bags. Somebody needs to service the wealthy. And I guess that's where the rest of us come in.

When people suffer financially, their animals face hardship, too. At the beginning of the year the Humane Society warned about about shelters being overwhelmed. Dogs and cats were losing their families when those families lost their homes. Now we're hearing about all kind of animals suffering in the financial downturn. Basically any animal that depends on humans is a little bit less secure.

Dogs and Cats
Shelters around the country report a surge of animals surrendered. Some have surely been forced into the situation, but lots of animals seem to be cast out as if they were impractical luxury goods. In Los Angeles, an 11-year-old shepherd was left scared in the shelter; the Animal Shelter of Sterling, MA, tells the Worcester Telegram that they haven't seen this many surrendered animals in 15 years; dogs in Dallas are being dumped on the side of the road. And, as I wrote about earlier, some people cruelly abandoned their pets in the house as a way to inflict suffering on the bank -- never mind what it did to the animal.

The economy is pulling marital bliss right down the crapper along with it and due to fewer assets raising the temperature of already emotional and heated divorces to boiling level. Many divorcees are already fighting over money and with the economy doing so poorly are now dividing up debts rather than fighting over summer homes and frequent flier miles. MSNBC reported on a case in which a freshly divorced husband and wife had to remain living in the same home because they couldn't afford to live elsewhere and another case in which the income of the involved parties had to be adjusted down from $15 million to under $1 million causing even more bitterness!

Historically divorces and the economy have had an interesting relationship, in the last 3 recessions the divorce rates have risen and peaked within a year of the end of the recession. In the early eighties the divorce rate peaked at 5.3 per 1,000 during the recession caused by the Iranian revolution after which it tapered off until the early nineties where it again capped off at 4.8 during a downturn in the industrial and manufacturing industry. Finally the divorce rate climbed back up to its most recent high as the tech bubble popped and dot coms began failing.

When I was in college, every summer meant the same thing: I would make the trek home to Northern Virginia with an immune system that was depleted by weeks of substandard food and not enough sleep, kiss my family, catch a cold, and spend a week in bed.

While I was convalescing, I would update my resume, which meant that as soon as I felt better, I could print out a few dozen copies and begin papering the local mall. Within a week or two, just as I began getting freaked out by my inability to get a job, somebody would hire me, and I'd begin learning about knives, or kitchen supplies, or how to make subs. I'd spend the rest of the summer picking up all sorts of useful skills while pulling together enough money to buy books and beer for the following semester.

It was a kinder, gentler time.

According to a recent article in the New York Post, college students in search of summer jobs are finding themselves competing not just against each other, but also against an unexpected foe: adults. As prices on gas and consumer goods continue to soar, many people who previously didn't work or worked a single job are picking up part time gigs to make ends meet. This is squeezing out the college students who traditionally fill the ranks of entry-level positions during the summer and winter. Added to this, of course, is the fact that retail jobs, long a mainstay of summer-employment, are also taking a major hit due to the economic downturn. If you had a good job last summer or during Christmas, this might be a great time to re-establish some old business relationships!

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. If he was a college student, this would be the year to try to get a job in repo.

A warning for those of you planning "staycations" this 4th of July, or really any time this summer: Your home town might be cutting back too and have less fun to offer than you think. That's what the residents of Cocoa Beach in Central Florida are finding out as the town is canceling its fireworks display.

It was spending $70,000 on its annual celebration, which seems like a lot to blow, so to speak, even if it did bring in a lot of tourists since it was the biggest one in the area. But it seems like a smart decision if you consider the other things the town could do with that amount in its budget. Most of the savings will probably go to paying for higher gas bills, of course. And wouldn't local residents rather have their cops have full tanks rather than watch a half-hour light show?

On the other hand, over in California, the governor (that's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger) asked towns to cancel fireworks displays this year because of the threat of wildfires. Folsom is one of the few to take heed.

I hadn't called my favorite pizza place in a while because I've been making my own (it's cheaper and I've been trying to eat mostly organic food). But I was going out for the night, leaving my husband alone with three boys, so I called Rudy's and ordered the best deal: the $9.99 medium pepperoni pizza.

"There's a $15 minimum now," said the voice on the other end, apologetically. "Gas is $4 a gallon, you know."

I wasn't the only one to be hit with expenses due to rising gas prices (and what's worse, my husband didn't eat the $5.99 antipasto salad I ordered). Many businesses are starting to charge for delivery, or tacking fuel surcharges on top of existing prices. The Washington Post points to a $10 increase in the cost of a mowed lawn for one woman; off-the-charts fuel surcharges at grocery delivery service Peapod; and the surcharges to ship packages at UPS and FedEx, going up by a percentage point to 9.5% on July 6 thanks to the ever-rising cost of diesel. Green Daily wrote about a fuel surcharge for traffic violations that will go into effect in one Georgia town July 1.

Naturally, not everyone is cool with the added on costs.

"American production has come to equal and even surpass, not our people's power to consume, but their power to purchase. . . ." (Time Magazine, Monday, Dec 02, 1929)

Such were the words of Henry Ford, as reported by Time Magazine. Those words were contained in a prepared statement he handed to newspaper reporters after the conclusion of what was perhaps the single largest and most important gathering of domestic business, industrial, and merchandising minds the world had known to date.

At that meeting were key representatives of such great names as: General Electric, AT&T, The American Railway Association, US Steel, General Motors, Sears, and Ford. Henry Ford's expressed solutions to the problems of the day included: "Putting additional value into goods or reducing the prices to the level of actual value," and: "Starting a movement to increase the general wage level."

That meeting followed the great stock market crash of 1929, and it was meant to help build a bulwark against possible negative impact of the recent market wreck against national business interests and the public at large. The leaders of business, industry, and merchandising pledged millions of dollars in expansion, and gave assurances that they would maintain business as usual. At that time the position of then president Herbert Hoover was that there had been no business recession, only the threat of one.

Rising gas prices are everywhere in the news as the fall-out continues. One article fears for $5 gas by July 4, others focus on the unlikely winners in the wake of such high prices at the pump, like Segway scooters. Meanwhile, if you are driving in your car still these days, it will get easier to choose which satellite radio service to purchase, since the FCC approved the merger of XM and Sirius.

News nuggets you need to know today:

• Rise in gas ripples through the economy
• Gas prices forcing many to pick up and move
• Floods May Send Gas Up 15 Percent
• $5 Gas Likely by July 4th; Get Ready for 'Stay-Cation'
  
• Price Jolt: Electricity Bills Going Up, Up, Up
• High Gas Prices Boost Interest in Segway Scooters
• Gas Prices, Economy Ease Shortage of Truckers
• Where to Find Deals as Inflation Soars

Elsewhere on the Web:

• CEO Pay Climbs Despite Companies' Struggles
  
• Five Ways to Cut Car Insurance Costs
  
• Slash Your Grocery Bills: 3 Steps for Reining in Costs
  
• Some Employees Buy Own Laptops, Phones for Work
  
• He's Big Bird: Caroll Spinney Loves Every Feather
• The Necktie, Knot What it Used to Be, Still Hangs On
  
• Nike Lets Sponsored Swimming Change Brands
• New Kits Can Turn Your Car into a Hybrid
  
• How Much You Need In Your Wallet For Your Next Flight
  
• Protect Your Child from Online Dangers the 'Cyber Dad' Way
  
  
  
  

Maybe the airlines are starting to learn something about their cost-cutting measures and price hiking: customers don't like it. At least, it looks like a fare hike over the weekend isn't going to last, one of the few times the airlines have taken back price increases lately. Meanwhile, General Motors is also learning a few things about consumer behavior in the age of $4 gas, and is now offering discounts on SUVs and trucks.

Other news nuggets you need to know today:

• Grim Outlook Issued for US Workers
• Stress Over Debt Taking Toll on Health
• Spielberg Working on $1 Billion Plan for Dreamworks
• Dolls in the Docket: Mattel Battles Over the Creation of Bratz
• London Tops List of Top Financial Centers
• Social Security Now Issues Debit Card Payments
• Heirs Get Millions in Executive Death Benefits

Elsewhere on the Web:

• Housing Crunch Hits the High End -- Beverly Hills and Greenwich
• 250-Ton RoadRunner is Fastest Computer
• Miami's Once-Hot Real Estate Market Cools
• What to do When a Heat Wave Strikes
• Car Loan Guide: When to Take Cash Back Over a Lower Rate
• Wal-Mart a Year Later: High Prices Now Bring in Customers
• Life, LIberty and the Pursuit of Luxurious Designer Women's Shoes
• Some Retailers Give Vinyl Records a Spin
• For About $500 a Season, You Can Have Your Own Farmer
  

Numbers, the club in Houston, Texas, not the hit TV show, is pulling out all the stops in association with Free Press Houston, to celebrate the recession with "Recession Thursdays"! During June on each Thursday, the recession will be celebrated or mourned -- depending on the fate of your work life -- with, what else, drink specials and live music. Personally I can't think of a better way to bemoan the economy than with specials on well drinks.

Part of me doesn't know whether to take this as a sign that there isn't a recession on the horizon, or if I should chalk it up to playful marketing. Houston was listed as one of the top ten recession proof cities by Forbes earlier this year so the job climate there may be much different than that of say, Detroit. On a different angle, if the effects of a recession have been hitting Houston encouraging more people to stay at home; maybe this blues busting party is just the answer to draw cash strapped youngsters out for a night on the town.

In my area the closest I have seen to recession themed marketing is a sign at the local ice cream stand advertising their recession buster special. It seems to me that advertising based on impending economic disaster, while good for the alcohol industry, isn't likely a first choice for stores such as Best Buy or Walmart. The stores, restaurants and entertainment establishments I frequent haven't deviated from business as usual. That said, they are often half empty when we do head out for the evening.

Any local stores using recession themed events or sales to draw you in?

The Today Show's Jean Chatzky explains the ups and downs of pawning in the video below. If you're desperate for cash and considering a pawnshop or payday lender, she has some good tips. One pawnshop featured in the video charges a monthly interest rate of 10% on its loans which, as Chatzky points out, might be better than overdraft fees.

But watching the video, you notice lots of really expensive merchandise: luxury clothing, Rolexes, high-priced electronics, etc.

Here's the thing: if you are desperate for cash and have a Rolex, you shouldn't be looking to pawn it with the hope of getting it back. You should be looking to sell it, simplify your life, and take care of your financial future. The idea of running out of cash and then waiting for the next paycheck to get back a watch is insane.

Are you sick of the "R" word? Do you skim over recession-laced articles online? Is your industry set for a downturn during the recession? Today I found a really amazing response to the thought of an oncoming recession from Ivan Misner, founder of BNI, a business networking company. In fact the idea is so simple you might even be dismissive of it. But I challenge you to take this advice to heart. Just refuse to participate in the recession. Phew, easy enough to say anyway.

The theory is backed by an anecdote Ivan relates of a busy real estate salesman he met recently, who claimed he was having his best year ever. Shocked by this assertion, Ivan asked how this was so. It turns out the secret is to stop throwing a pity party at the water cooler and get out there to drum up business. Even if the economy is going down the drain, someone is going to be buying and someone is going to be selling. In a tough market it is the person who refuses to accept that their industry goes into the crapper during a recession who will be living the high life.

If you are feeling the affects of the economic downturn at home by increased costs of living or the loss of a job, refusing to participate in the recession is a bit harder to envision. For many people what you do at home or after your day job may actually turn out to be an easier way to refuse to participate in a recession. If you lost your job, hit the pavement and show someone you are worth hiring. You may not get your dream job and it may not be what you want to do but If you get out there you instead of consenting defeat to the economy there are opportunities!

Yes, we all know that food prices are rising. It's worth remembering that this isn't just happening in the United States but that food prices have risen worldwide. If you look at the global picture, you won't complain about paying $4.00 for a gallon of milk. Bottom line? We are still food rich and we have lots of alternatives if we don't want to pay more for groceries.

Thinking about food purchasing and preparation is another opportunity that the recession brings for recalibrating how we live and spend. We eat and spend too much and move around too little.

Here's a challenge.Take a small spiral notebook and use to it keep track of what you eat and what you pay for the next week. Include the bottle of diet coke that you buy at the gas station, the $28 you spend on take-out, the totals at the grocery store, the five cups of coffee or vitamin water. At the end of the week, sit down with the local store circulars and see whether you can't easily feed your family for less than 2/3 of that amount.

This post is part of a series about real-life signs we're in a recession.

Tobias Buckell tells me that the dojo in his hometown has added a new side business to its martial arts; balloons. This is one example of a growing movement of small businesses compensating for falling sales by adding new business products, sometimes with comedic results.

In my neighborhood, the local model train shop is now also making banners. Signs announcing the lure of 'free internet inside' are on every business door except the portable toilets.

I see the potential for ancillary businesses as a great way to weather the recession. For example-

• A combination funeral parlor and Ebay shop (sell off the estate)
• Why not cross Terrier breeding with ditch digging?
• A diaper service / defumigating service would be a natural.
• Tobacconists could make a mint selling bottled oxygen.
• Why don't laundromats sell deodorant?
• How about a combination pizza parlor & Weight Watcher's center?
• An optometrist that runs a car body shop on the side.
• And pick your politician – shouldn't they be selling bottled gas?

What is the funniest or oddest business combination you've seen?

This post is part of a series about real-life signs we're in a recession.

I was pregnant with my first son, Everett, when my family bought a membership to the Oregon Zoo. Here in Portland, obstetricians actually suggest eager moms-to-be walk up and down the hills at the zoo when they're trying to stimulate contractions.

It didn't work much, but it started a family connection to the zoo (and hilariously, a baby mountain goat was born the same day as Everett), and now that we have three children, we've upgraded to the most serious membership of all. My husband's favorite thing to do with the children is to get on the bus (we've given up our family car) and take the boys to see animals. With the $100 annual membership, all our visits are free but for snacks.

Ahem. But for snacks. Visits have been few and far between lately, because the snacks at the zoo now seem so expensive. Even though the baby doesn't ask for elephant ears, buying even one treat for every family member with a full set of teeth can set us back $20 -- more than our typical family grocery budget for a day (and we haven't had a zip of nutrition, in all likelihood). I don't mind packing snacks for the boys to go on an afternoon excursion (especially if that leaves me home alone in peace), but have you ever taken a five-year-old and three-year-old to the zoo and refused to buy them the treats offered at every turn? Umm-hmmm. Avoiding the "gimmes" when we truly can't afford to satisfy them is the reason we now spend a lot more of our entertainment time enjoying the wildlife in our own backyard.