12 Things Bought in a Bad Economy

“An avowal of poverty is no disgrace to any man; to make no effort to escape it is indeed disgraceful”
-Thucydides (Greek historian, 460-404 BC)

Moneyland at Time.com lists 12 items that are selling quite well at present. They call them "recession-proof" products but keep in mind that with some items (like #1) sales were flat before the recession so these might not be "good-times-proof" products.

1. Romance Novels - sales are up 7% at Harlequin
2. Junk food - doughnut sales are up, as are chips and other snacks
3. Nail polish - sales are up 68%. Traditionally lipstick has been the recession-proof cosmetic as a cheap way to look and feel better.
4. Halloween Costumes - yet another form of escapism from dreary reality
5. Fast Food - McDonalds is up 5% from last year. Sad in a way because fast food is not so cheap anymore.
6. Lottery tickets - wishful thinking
7. Generic Drugs - that makes sense
8. Chocolate - Hershey up 20%
9. Vegetable seeds?  - I guess people are hoping to save money by growing their own food. It didn't work for us - we grew two peppers.
10. Condoms - cheap entertainment yet reluctance to beget children in troubled times?
11. Yoga??? - inexpensive stress relief?

Bottom Line

When times are tough people find ways to distract themselves with cheap thrills and escapism. Can money buy happiness?