If the economy was based on your personal spending habits how would it look ?

[WhatWouldYouDoWhatWouldJesusDo]

I was pondering earlier (( not much else to do these days )) and totting up how much I've spent this week.

It came to £70 in Aldi, around £3 in home bargains on cleaning stuff and that's it.

No takeaways, no car to run, I don't drink or smoke so no revenue there. We spend a fair bit on travel but only use trains so no flying.

I spend maybe £100 or so a year on clothes, I don't subscribe to anything online.

If the economy was based on my spending habits we'd be goosed. More so than we are now. Does anyone else fare better ?

If it was based on my spending, folk music would be doing well (wish that were true, for the sake of all the musicians I love who are struggling right now).

Other than that, I’ve only really been buying food from Sainsbury’s, candles from IKEA when it was open and occasionally something from Amazon - I don’t like adding to Jeff Bezos’ pocket but darn it they’re so convenient.

Ylfa interesting economy, rather appealing if all products could be sourced ethically.

It would look very different and we'd probably all be in mudhuts (or something!)
I'm madly "green" so my spend on anything that isn't made from sustainable alfalfa by happy pixies under a new moon is very low. Most of my money is spent on food and drink - so much that I actually don't even look at prices. I only buy clothes second hand or in charity shops. I hardly ever drive; pre-Covid, flew once a year.
So a macrocosm of my economy would be: people producing local, sustainable/preferably not-plastic-packaged food and booze would be doing pretty well, as would the milkman; solar panel and triple-glazing people would get the odd job when needed; charity shops and re-use sites would be quids in. Everyone else pretty stuffed!

Under current conditions Waitrose are doing great and Morrison's pretty good. Gin companies are getting a well deserved boost. M&S had a little flurry of activity last autumn but nothing since so they're probably doomed. Local shops have had a boost recently and unfortunately the odd contribution to Amazon's continuing growth has been made over the past year. Handbag shops and designer clothes outlets never got off the ground.
My hairdresser survived the last lockdown but who knows about the future. Any other beauty related business is already bankrupt as are restaurants, pubs and coffee shops if they relied my spending in or out of lockdown.
Normally Brittany Ferries and Easy jet would be doing quite well but can't see me making any contribution to their continued survival for some time.

Collapsed... !!
The hospitality sector would be tiny.
Fashion, grooming things would be nearly non-existent.
Cars would all be Trabant quality.

Vegetables, fruit & Bicycle technology & variety & accessories would be amazing.

If the economy was based on my spending, we'd be more fucked than ever! I am massively debt adverse, will only buy if I can pay upfront. I prioritise saving above 'fun' money and I'm on a low, low income... There would be no holiday, hospitality or service industry; retail would look closer to 1960. I don't even use public transport most of the time due to the cost. Internet shopping would go down the shitter. Basically, the economy would grind to a halt. Fast.

I am grateful for other people keeping it ticking over.

Also collapsed!

I don't have a lot of money but I'm not a spender on 'stuff' generally anyway and tend to save any surplus for holidays. Lidl would be ok, Amazon too as I have things on subscribe and save as well as kindle books. eBay occasionally for second hand clothes for me and the toddler.

Beauty non existent

Teenager would keep Microsoft in business with his Xbox purchases.

Travel...a fair bit on public transport and got a couple of UK breaks booked for this year

Genuinely struggling to think where else I spend money other than bills 🤔

Threadbare

Haven't earned anything since Sept so I have bought nothing but absolute essentials since, ie food, toothpaste, loo roll, car insurance.

As soon as I have a new contract, I'm going shopping. I've made a list of all the lovely things I'm going to treat myself to, and get to add one thing a week to the list. I can't wait

My village would have several book shops with excellent children's and YA sections, lots of bloody good novels and fantasy but very little crime.

The local shop would sell really good quality dark chocolate and the biscuit aisle would consist of mostly dark chocolate digestives, hobnobs and borders dark chocolate gingers.

We would have a lush. It would only sell butterball bath bombs.

Oh and posh Swedish grain free cat food (bozita) which incidentally is the only thing I've done a brexit panic buy on so any problems the rest of is are stuffed but the cat has about 5 months worth of food stacked behind the kitchen door.

Bookshops, bars & restaurants and coffee shops would be flourishing. However, all the gyms and clothes shops would have shut down.

@OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea

Oh and posh Swedish grain free cat food (bozita) which incidentally is the only thing I've done a brexit panic buy on so any problems the rest of is are stuffed but the cat has about 5 months worth of food stacked behind the kitchen door.

I've got a Bozita wall alongside the back door, too. The little gits now come running at the sound of every Tetrapak of tomatoes as well as every tin of beans or packet of pasta that's opened.

Interesting thread. I would keep supermarket/food industry thriving. Our weekly food bills are considerably higher than our mortgage. Not much else would survive!

@OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea

My village would have several book shops with excellent children's and YA sections, lots of bloody good novels and fantasy but very little crime.

The local shop would sell really good quality dark chocolate and the biscuit aisle would consist of mostly dark chocolate digestives, hobnobs and borders dark chocolate gingers.

We would have a lush. It would only sell butterball bath bombs.

Oh yeah, Lush! In my case it would just stock The Comforter bubble bar

I'm terrible for spending. Takeaways a couple of times a week, endless clothes, shoes, lush orders, eBay bargains, Asda home and clothes orders, also love b&m, home bargains, Poundland and Primark hauls! 😳

During the pandemic? Or 'normally' ?

Either way - I'm not really a spender. I am grateful others are though as I'm a big fan of either buying secondhand or accepting 'hand-me-downs'. This is in terms of clothes, furniture, cars, - most things really.

However I am a big fan of eating out. I like a pub meal in the evening or a takeaway, and I like a "cooked breakfast" if I'm out and about at lunchtime. (Obviously, not on the same day ). I like going to the theatre.
So I don't spend on 'goods' so much as 'hospitality'.

Booming, profligacy abounds!

We'd all be pissed on quality wine, wearing British produced cashmere and eating like kings.

I spend more than my mortgage a month in supermarkets but that is because we buy a lot of non food eg clothes there too.
So I’m keeping them in business!
Did a reasonable amount of gift buying last month so money to some small independent businesses, Debenhams for old time’s sake, chemists and bookshops.
Car petrol spending is way down.
I’m expecting utilities to go up from being stuck in plus we have more streaming services now to keep everyone occupied.
No debts other than student loans thank goodness.
No savings though.

The world would be on its arse.... oh hang on a moment.

I've avoided the shops since masks became mandatory.

Emmm pretty crap ive spent 500 pound this week and im getting a takeaway later.

Mosyly book.

Iceland, Lidl, Tesco and Coop would be doing well. I like.buying food. 3 mortgages (dont ask). Netflix amazon and Disney plus. Some. Forays into home bargains and B and M. Not. As local and ethical as I would like.

Inexpensive knitting yarns would be everywhere

Well, the fashion and cosmetics industries would have collapsed long ago. Finally, my dream of everyone in woolly jumpers from Scope can be realised.
Starbucks, Costa, Pret would all have gone into administration as everyone decides that those are ridiculous prices to pay for coffee.
Cheese industries would likely have gone been banned.
I've never bought Apple products so that's gone. As is Alexa. And any phones more advanced than Motorola 3g.

Love the way you've done that @fussychica - you should write for the FT!

Singlehandedly keeping B&Q, Wickes and Farrow and Ball above the waterline here - house is a renovator and in lieu of not being able to go climbing at the wall or Wainwright hiking in the Lakes I've finally got a bit more time to spend on it. Campsites in the Lakes must be struggling a bit with me not there, but the paths and tracks around Saddleworth and the Pennines where I live are being eroded by my feet a bit.