My Favorite Business Resources
- Cheap Business Phone Service - Make phone calls anywhere for free or darn close to it.
- Cheap Printing - Always amazing deals on cheap printing with loads of free items.
- Manage Mobile Phone Costs - Great phone for controlling cell phone costs for business or teenagers.
- Really Good Web Hosting - As bullet proof as there is. A strong hosting provider with all the resources you need.

My Favorite Credit Resources
- Consolidate Your Debt - One monthly payment. Stop collection calls.
- Help Budgeting - Online and easy.
- Lower Your Car Payment - Refinance to reduce your monthly payment.
- Credit Report / Credit Score - This consolidated report is better than most.
- Credit Cards - Find the best card for you for low rates, balance transfer, credit rebuilding and rewards.

Feb

2008

Observations On The Road - Signs of Real Consumer Weakness in the U.S.

Posted by Steve Rhode as Economy, Mortgage Related, Travel Related

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We hear a lot about the state of the economy in various places, but it isn’t till you get out on the road where you can see how it might really be impacting people.

This morning I’m waking up in Arlington, Texas. This means that I’m now more than halfway across America, if you use the fold in the map as your benchmark. A highly technical measure.

I’ve noticed some very interesting things along the way that give you a real indication at how the U.S. economy is right now.

Potential Good Sign

Lot’s of Hotel Construction - I am very surprised by the amount of new hotels that are being constructed along the highways. Since commercial construction has a long lead time I can only assume that all of this construction was planned before there was a downturn in the economy. All of the new inns are members of large chains and recognizable brands.

Bad Signs

Loads of Available Hotel Rooms - On the drive we have not run into a single place that did not have available rooms for the night. The parking lots of most places are not anywhere near full. So while there is lots of new construction it does not look like occupancy rates warrant it.

Billboards for Bankruptcy - I have not seen as many billboards for bankruptcy as I would have imagined but the two I did see caught my eye. One was for 0% down Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. File Now. Pay Latter. The second was a kind of standard solve your bill problems with bankruptcy advert.

Empty Billboards - I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many empty billboards across America before. There are empty outdoor advertising venues on the major interstates I’ve traveled including I-95. Lamar billboards look particularly empty. It does not appear that this glut in empty billboards is created by new billboards being built. There is a new variety of billboard, the huge jumbotron screen, with it’s rotating message, but there are not many of those.

Bank REO’s Foreclosed Homes For Sale in Real Estate Books - Along the way I’ve been picking up real estate guides. It is surprising to see a number of homes advertised for sale as bank repos. Typically these homes get snatched up at auction but if the bank is taking them back then nobody is bidding more than the banks mortgage. And the homes advertised as nice upscale homes.

Buy One Car, Get One Free - In dallas a large car dealership was running television commercials for their huge inventory of bank repoed cars. The special this week was if you bought a bank repoed car you’d get one free. Vehicle repossessions are booming. I passed a Range Rover with bling rims on a flatbed truck that had written “Repo in Transit - For Sale” on the back window of the Range Rover.

More Payday Loan Stores in Better Shopping Centers - I’ve noticed that the payday and storefront lenders are moving into nicer sections of town and the newly built strip malls.

Empty Mall Parking Lots - I have not passed a shopping mall yet that had a parking lot that looked more than 15% full.

More Places With Refill Warning Signs - I can only assume that more people are trying to save money by bringing back old cups to refill at fast food places. But I’ve seen these signs in several states now.