Tag Archives: recession

News, The Daily Feed, WMATA, WTF?!
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Metro: People Are Actually Using Their Farecards!

Photo courtesy of
‘Farecard’
courtesy of ‘orphum’

This should shock precisely no one, but WMATA is expressing some concern that riders are actually using their farecards until they’re empty. WMATA was hoping to use the $11M in unused fare-dollars for other budgetary purposes next year, but the rise in SmarTrip card usage (upwards of 70% on rail and 60% bus, now!), and the recession that has people keeping their farecards and reloading them, even when they have less than a fare on them. Metro had been tapping up to 5% of fares as a slush fund of sorts useful for paying small deficits, but with fewer farecards in use, their accountants are recommending only 3% of fares be used in that manner.

There are internal proposals at Metro to raise fares up to 15% to cover the budget gap.

Thrifty District
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Thrifty District: Staying Cute in a Recession

Photo courtesy of
‘Necklaces’
courtesy of ‘lorigoldberg’

This Thrifty District is going to be kind of lady-focused. I apologize, male WLDC readers (and lady readers who are not so into accessorizing and hairstyles), but we’ll have some college basketball coverage this afternoon to balance it out, okay?

So, the economy is in the crapper. People are getting laid off all around you. Maybe you’ve been laid off yourself. You need to cut costs, but you also don’t want to look like a scrub while furiously networking and trying to secure job interviews. The best way to improve what’s already in your closet (especially if you’ve taken Jenn’s advice on cheap-but-chic clothing) is with a good haircut and accessories, but that can be expensive too, especially if you’re unemployed. Fortunately, there are ways around that. Continue reading →

Business and Money, The Daily Feed, WTF?!
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Penny For Your Thoughts

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ArtFromM

by flickr user ArtFromM

Over the last week or two, I’ve been noticing a surprising amount of pennies on the streets of DC.  They lie on the cold pavement, waiting for some DCer to take .4 seconds out of their day to bend down, pick them up and put them to use.

While I agree pennies can be annoyingly heavy, and have a habit of multiply like bunnies in your pocket, WE ARE IN A RECESSION PEOPLE!  Is carrying around that one penny really that hard?

If you can tolerate carrying, OMG say just 5 pennies, you can buy a piece of Bazooka Joe gum, read the accompanying comic, and laugh your winter recession blues away.  Or if you hang on to 25 pennies, you can upgrade to a pack of Juicy Fruit.  And for hoarding 100 pennies, you can get a McChicken sandwich from McDonald’s.

So save let’s try to save the pennies and reap the rewards.