Robert Thigpen greeted shoppers as he manned the Salvation Army kettle outside the Mall of America. When I asked him how he planned to spend this holiday, "Reckless," was his reply, although he'll only pay with cash. "We've been bound for a couple of years," he said of our hunker-down mentality. "It kind of feels good to let it go."
« It's scary just to read and see so much and see people get into trouble. » Gail Perelstein, of Golden Valley, and her daughter Jenny, of Minneapolis « For us it's been fine. We've been very fortunate. » Randy Knecht is from Houghton, S.D.
« I had a credit card and it kind of went bad on me. ... the interest rates on credit cards are just so high and then late fees are bad, too. »
Carla Sjodahl, St. Paul
Jen Jacobson of Rochester, Minn., has used her Amazon reward points for holiday gifts and bought herself half an iPod. The mom of two young kids says she tends to go a bit overboard buying presents for them this time of year. But even reward-point devotees aren't immune to the new frugality. "I think I'm paying more attention to the amount I'm spending," she said.
« It's awesome because I'm not having to pay for any of my Christmas presents, because I'm able to cover it through working. » Abbey McCrum, St. Paul, on her bartering group
