Always the Optimist

We met Sean and Dave at the restaurant’s bar, where they’d already ordered their first round of drinks. They’d both come straight from work and were excited to blow off some steam.

Sean is a mortgage broker and Dave works in real estate development. Needless to say, things have been pretty slow at work lately.

“Our economy is screwed,” Sean said, smiling. “But people still aren’t paying attention. It’s not what they want to hear.”

“Everyone wants to keep spending, even though they know better. The news keeps telling us that we’re in a recession. But the news always hypes everything up. Blows it out of proportion.”

Funny thing is, despite his insight, Sean also planned to keep spending. He wasn’t cutting back or changing his habits. He was sure that his finance degree will help him navigate any hard times.

Opportunity: Stay sunny. It’s what they’ll hear anyway.

Trying New Things

“I never thought I’d take the bus in Phoenix! But I’m taking it twice a week now,” Lynn told us proudly. The group had been talking about gas prices (I don’t fill my tank anymore!), grocery prices ($3.00 for eggs!), housing (We have no equity!), and everything else that’s adding up these days.

“The bus schedule is inconvenient, but I’m trying to figure out a way to not pay $800 a year in parking!”

She admitted that she wasn’t going to make a permanent leap to commuting by bus, but she was patting herself on the back for making that little change. She knew that it was more of a gesture than a true savings plan, yet the personal satisfaction she got from that small gesture was clearly a reward in itself.

Opportunity: Show them the huge return little changes can reap.

A Little Champagne

It was the first topic that came up: the state of our union. “Stress. That’s the biggest change. I’m not so much of a worrier as my husband, I know we’ll get through it. But we’re definitely more stressed.”

Gail had recently moved into what she called, “Grown-up Camp”, it’s a lifestyle community where water aerobics, mahjong games, and round robin are all in a days work, or in this case, a day’s fun.

“It was Rob who really fell in love with it, the view and the games are what sold him,” she said as we peered at the picturesque mountain in her backyard. “And once he gives me that shit eating grin of his, it’s all over. So we bought it without selling the old house first. That was about 2 years ago, and we were asking $700,000. It’s still sitting there, except now we’re asking $400,000.”

It’s true, when we drove in, there was a sea of For Sale signs, you couldn’t drive more than 10 feet without seeing one.

As we kept chatting it became apparent that Gail had made some changes to her life, little ones, but changes nonetheless.



“We don’t eat out as much. And movies aren’t a once a week trip anymore,” she said nodding her head slowly.

“A lot more meatloaf and mashed potatoes” Gail said, “no reason for fancy meals, there are a million ways I can spice up a meatloaf.” Her eyes brightened a bit as she exclaimed, “And you know what? Last time I served my mashed potatoes, I served them in a champagne glass!”

Opportunity: There’s something about tough times that let your creativity loose. Celebrate that creativity. Have fun with the basics.

Keep Moving

“I didn’t want to get stuck in rut. Everyone around me was getting married, pregnant, and I didn’t’ want that. That’s why I moved out here, to avoid the rut,” Bridgette said over a slice of pizza at their favorite Italian joint in Phoenix. Her sister Bethany recently joined her for the same reason; they didn’t want to live the life they knew back home.

We continued chatting and as the drinks got lower in the glass, Bridgette soon admitted her personal shopping addictions. “I like the extras. The toppings. I mean, a new hand lotion, necklace, I like to keep it interesting.” She continued, “you know, it’s like those girls who dye their hair after a really bad break up. Sometimes you just need to keep changing it up.”

Opportunity: No one wants to get stuck in a rut. Ease her fears of getting trapped; make sure she always has a way of changing.

Soapbox Realism

We knew from the start that Tonya was very socially-minded—and opinionated. “I love to get on my soap box and talk about causes,” Tonya admitted over lunch. “There are a lot of things I’m very concerned about right now—global warming, the war, Africa…”

So we were surprised to see her take a sheepish tone when she admitted, “I shop at Wal-Mart these days, and it kills me. I don’t like their business practices, but I can’t resist the low prices.”

As Tonya knew all too well, ideals often take a back seat to reality.

But as unhappy as she may have been with this financial reality, she willfully found a silver lining. “With the money I save, at least I can make little contributions to the causes that are important to me.”

Opportunity: She’s already aware of the necessity of bargain shopping. Help her remember what she gets in return.

Little Adventures

So yes, we are hypocrites. We preach not to go to the zoo, but that’s exactly what we did: headed straight for the Phoenix Zoo.

“I’ve never seen it this crowded!” We met Ellen standing in line with three of her friends and their little ones, all waiting patiently to be let inside. “I’ve been coming here for 20 years and I’ve never seen it this busy.”



While fighting our way to sneak a peak at the main event, baby Michael the Orangutan, we asked Laura, the local zoo expert if what Ellen had said was true. “It’s spring break, so of course it’s busy, but membership has never been higher, so maybe that has something to do with the larger than normal crowds.”

While purse strings might be tighter, and week long vacations might be a thing of the past, it doesn’t mean people are going to stop enjoying themselves. If the Wild Kingdom isn’t in the budget this year, maybe a few more trips to the zoo will help quench the adventure thirst? Because really, who doesn’t love a day at the zoo?

Opportunity: Help turn day trips into mini holidays.

Workin’ for the Weekend

Dave was a very honest guy. He had no hesitation in telling us what matters to him in life. “Going out with friends gets most of my money. I basically prioritize booze above all else. I’ll eat at Subway all week so that I can spend $60 at the bar on Saturday.”

Scottsdale, AZ is a notoriously flashy town. Our casual restaurant was filled with conspicuous designer brands and the parking lot with even more conspicuous luxury cars. But even in Scottsdale, Dave wasn’t going to be convinced that his spending priorities should change.

Dave happily reported that he shops at places like JCPenney and Ross, trying to look decent without spending a lot of money. He’s just not interested in spending money on clothing.

He needs that money for other things. As he told us, “I live my life for the weekends.”

Opportunity: His priorities are set. Facilitate the experiences our guy really lives for.