The credit crunch & your whisky budget

[Jimmy321]

Are you concerned about the credit crunch or is it hurting your income, will this determine how much you spend on whisky?

My income is down quite a bit and i am starting to think about how much i spend on whisky.

Personally i am going to be more selective in what i buy.

[TheTross]

Fortunately my job is pretty much the safest you can get during these times (supermarket), so my income hasn't been affected at all. That said, I have become aware of just how much I'm spending on whisky so I too am going to try to be more selective, rather than impulse buys as I frequently used to.

[Leither]

Jimmy - good thread and poll. I imagine some parts of the industry will be keeping tabs on this thread!

Anyway, from January I will have a monthly and annual whisky budget, both in terms of £ and number of bottles. As such, I answered that I'll be more selective, or at least that's the plan.

Thankfully, my job is relatively more safe than others in Edinburgh - such as those in the Financial sector, especially Bank of Scotland and the likes. I used to work in that sector but glad to be away from it, especially in my profession. It's ironic that not so long ago many used to perceive a job in financial services to be very safe, but it just goes to show - no job is safe these days.

Indeed, today's press is speculating the 'recession set to cost up to 117,000 Scottish jobs' (figures from a well-respected economic think-tank.)

[Ryguy]

I chose that I would be a bit more selective on what I buy, but I'm between that and the top choice, that I will continue buying as much as normal. So I don't really think I'll be buying less, but I will probably plan ahead for purchases now, rather than just buying on a whim like usual.

[jazz lover]

I voted to continue buying
I stocked up for a rainy day
and I see the clouds forming.

[JCSkinner]

Like others, I've got a nice stockpile for the forthcoming hard times.
Having said that, it will be hard to ignore the release of whiskeys that are very tempting to me, like Celtic's single cask Midleton, or the forthcoming sherried Connemara.
So I haven't. But I imagine that my Scotch budget will evaporate and unless the Mrs starts threatening my single malts, I won't be buying any more bourbon either.

[mikeymad]

With my personal credit crunch... my whisky purchases have gone to zero.....

Which hurts with the exchange rate under 1.5$ per pound.

Cheers,

[Deactivated Member]

Thankfully, my job is relatively more safe than others in Edinburgh - such as those in the Financial sector, especially Bank of Scotland and the likes.

Yes. If I worked for HBOS - especially if I did a relatively low-paid job in one of their back offices - I would be very nervous about the proposed Lloyds TSB takeover. Here in Scotland, it's easy to focus on the high flying, jet-set bankers and their tribulations. The truth is, the banks employ a lot of people doing grunt work in unglamorous parts of the city - many of them have overextended on mortgages in Fife or the further reaches of the Lothians (which will be the first places to be hit by falling house prices); have HP agreements on cars; have young families to support; have run up eye watering debts on credit cards; etc.

Right now, I guess it isn't the time to be out of work in Scotland and looking for a new job in the financial services sector.

[Ganga]

I think I will be more selective in what I buy. What this probably means is that I will spend less on things that are more likely to be disappointing (new Laddie finishes anyone?) and spend more on things I know there is a better chance of enjoyment.

[Kernow]

Im in the building trade, its killing me and my Whisky purchasing.

[Jimmy321]

Im in the building trade, its killing me and my Whisky purchasing.

I sell to the manufacturing industry and business is going south, i don't think it's as bad as the building trade yet but nearly every day you hear about layoff's, today it was JCB.

[LagaDrinker]

I will be buying as normal for the moment however my wife may be made redundant any day now so that could all change watch this space...

[borgom]

Unfortunately I was in finance and am now jobless so my whisky purchasing will dive, although I'm sure there will be some bottles I just can not resist buying

[Wave]

I have a good paying job in a safe field (Power industry) with no debt, so this credit crunch isn't hurting me in the slightest. I too will continue to buy whisky as normal, but at the same time I also be more selective of my whisky purchases though not because of this credit crunch,
space for more bottles is getting to be at a premium ....again!

Cheers!

[thedartster69]

I'm working in retail for a big firm so i should be safe jobwise however, i will definitely have to reign in the purchases especially if Laddie keep releasing the range they currently are and at some pretty high prices. That being said... i will definitely be doing more auction visits as there are some good deals to be had and am sure there will be some i can't resist. If all else fails maybe i'll get a part time job at Oddbins.

[Sherried Malt]

This credit crunch really has me worried. Friends are getting laid off with many having no hope of re-entering the industry. I have my fingers crossed that I won't be among them, but a streak of prudence has hit me and I think it's time to really cut back on buying.

Lucky I have enough open bottles to tide me over!

[Knolly]

Ok - someone had to do it, so it might as well be me. Poor old "what's a credit crunch" had no votes, so I added one

In reality, the credit crunch will affect a lot of people for sure. For me directly, it won't affect us much because we have a young, growing manufacturing business, so the rate of growth might slow down, but we're still in a growth phase, and sales are steadily increasing. October was our best billing month ever although the first week or so was downright scary and we seriously busted our collective asses to drive sales.

My biggest concern is with some of our resellers. This is where being in touch with your customers is important: both in terms of being able to help them out a bit where possible and also keep an eye on the ones who are maybe not as financially secure and keep them on a shorter leash.

Concerning yes, but as far as I'm concerned, it's business as usual for us. For me I can't waste time worrying: definitely be smart and aware, but don't get too caught up in the media frenzy. The world still turns.

Cheers and good luck (work smart!) to everyone out there.

[Muskrat Portage]

I have a stockpile as do many of us, however I will continue to purchase as I normally do.

In this I mean that I purchase sporadically at the best of times and only when I have extra funds to spend on non-essentials. Yes, I consider whisky a "non- essential". Food, heat, fuel & clothing are essentials.

I work in the public sector and plan on hanging on until retirement in a few years. That's not to say I'm not concerned about the credit crunch, having been downsized three times in the past decade. You just have to get out, as I did and find another job or two, no matter how menial, and work back up the monetary food chain. You then go with the highest bidder as the opportunity arises.

I went from being a senior court official to stocking shelves at a store in a week and have been clawing my way back ever since. Been there, done it and still have my pride for putting in an honest days' work.

Muskrat Portage

[hook55]

I took early retirement to move here, put my money into shares back in Australia, so I have lost a lot? I don't check my shares anymore as it is depressing and I can't afford to drink as much as i used too Can't buy Whisky and have to rely on relatives to buy me for special occasions? The whisky I have has to last me a long time, I'm just drinking from a shot glass now instead of the Waterford Whisky Glass.

[mr_fox]

Seems to be a bit more Ardbeg on Ebay than a month ago. Has anyone noticed this for other distilleries, or whisky in general, and do you think it's people raising money for christmas or dealers having a speculative sell-off?

Looks like I might be able to get a few good additions to my store at prices I wouldn't have hope for a few months back!

[I_SPEY]

I voted for: I will continue to buy whisky as normal. I'm very happy I can say this, but I only buy 2 bottles a month. One malt and often a Teachers or Dewar's. But things will get though here in Holland too, I'm sure. As I have my own business and no employees(except Mrs. I_SPEY), we are doing well.

I hope things will turn out better in 6-10 months time. I'm a positive person. The main thing for Holland is our 'backland', I mean Germany etc.
So, lets wait and see.

[Willie JJ]

This is a very interesting discussion. So far it appears that 64% of respondents are thinking of significantly reducing their whisky spend and yet we continue to hear that the industry are predicting serious price rises in the near future. If the price rises come about then Euro/US whisky sales could fall seriously. I wonder if the BRIC countries are really going to take up this slack or if they will be affected by the downturn also. I think the whisky companies need to be careful in the near future. if they are not they may end up triggering the next industry crash. Time will tell.

Anyway my job is secure but the downturn presents a whole host of opportunities so my money may be moving elsewhere for a wee while.

[Sherried Malt]

This is a very interesting discussion. So far it appears that 64% of respondents are thinking of significantly reducing their whisky spend and yet we continue to hear that the industry are predicting serious price rises in the near future. If the price rises come about then Euro/US whisky sales could fall seriously. I wonder if the BRIC countries are really going to take up this slack or if they will be affected by the downturn also. I think the whisky companies need to be careful in the near future. if they are not they may end up triggering the next industry crash. Time will tell.

Anyway my job is secure but the downturn presents a whole host of opportunities so my money may be moving elsewhere for a wee while.

I think price increases will be extremely hard to push through and probably ill-advised. The BRIC countries are going through their own problems. We hear stories of Chinese factories shutting every day and China just announced a $560+ billion stimulus package. Other luxury good areas are cutting back their sales forecasts too. I saw a report from Porsche saying as much. They also said that they would not cut prices to boost sales since that would dilute the brand.

All that said, I'm very happy to hear that many folks on this forum are faring well despite these ugly times.

[MacAttack80]

I have a secure job at the moment so I will be buying as normal. I pray that things work out for those who are not as fortunate.

Cheers
Mac

[Novice Scotch Fan]

I have a stockpile as do many of us, however I will continue to purchase as I normally do.

In this I mean that I purchase sporadically at the best of times and only when I have extra funds to spend on non-essentials. Yes, I consider whisky a "non- essential". Food, heat, fuel & clothing are essentials.

I work in the public sector and plan on hanging on until retirement in a few years. That's not to say I'm not concerned about the credit crunch, having been downsized three times in the past decade. You just have to get out, as I did and find another job or two, no matter how menial, and work back up the monetary food chain. You then go with the highest bidder as the opportunity arises.

I went from being a senior court official to stocking shelves at a store in a week and have been clawing my way back ever since. Been there, done it and still have my pride for putting in an honest days' work.

Muskrat Portage

Muskrat, I admire your work ethic and upbeat attitude. It is to be commended.

[Muskrat Portage]

Novice SF:

Thank you for your kind words. It's all I could do.

Well, you can either sit around the coffee shop complaining that there's no work at the salary you demand, or get out and work for whatever wages you are offered. During the Depression in '29 my grandfather worked on the town log pile on "relief" to make enough to put something on the table.

If you wish to hold your head up and respect yourself for overcoming adversity, you do your best and work hard at what's available. I was lucky that work was available when I needed it.

Muskrat Portage

[UUNetBill]

I've curtailed my spending quite a bit: I'm a defense contractor and my wife is an executive/owner of a start up bank.

As of now, we're okay, but discretionary spending is WAY down for both of us (whisky for me, wine for her) - but I agree with some of the posters who think things will bounce back - hopefully sooner than later!

Time will tell, I guess.

[kwellada]

I'm waiting for a work permit in Canada, but once I'm legal there should be no problems getting a job. One fellow is pestering me to get legal sooner than later. This area has far more jobs than people (or beds to accomodate seasonal workers) so getting work won't be a problem

However, in the meantime, whisky buying is hit the skids. I'll resume purchasing 2-3 bottles a month once I'm working again in the near future.

[Hereward]

My job is safe for the foreseeable future and I have no debts, so I anticipate continuing to buy the same, possibly more if prices start to come down. I can't see the distilleries' expected price rises happening in the current climate; a price war seems more likely to me. I also wonder if any distilleries will go to the wall, as they have in previous slumps.

[badgerbrown]

My department at work has just dodged a bullet, so I guess I'm safe, but who's to say?
Malt whisky prices seem to be getting more expensive over the last year or so, so I am going to be exploring blends for a bit as I have practically no knowledge of them. I'll still buy the odd bottle of malt whisky, but it will be either a trusted favourite brand or something more reasonably priced, like BenRiach, which I still have to try. I definitely won't be buying Octomore or anymore PC (althouh I have the PC6 open and I like it), as I don't think that the rise in price has a comensurate rise in quality so I just can't justify the expense.

[Kernow]

To the 2 peoplewho have had to
'I will not be buying whisky for the foreseeable future. '
i feel for you. Hope things turn around soon.

[Swedish Chef]

I'll be buying less now but not 'cause of the credit crunch (at least not yet). I've been buying about two bottles a week since late july. With my income that rate is simply not sustainable, 'specially as i'm now leaning towards more expensive bottles. A couple of months ago I made a deal with myself that I would only spend my tips on whiskey, needless to say that never quite worked out. But I am trying to be more selective about what I buy - that part is made easier by the gob'ment monopoly and the crappy selection at the local (small town) branch of the before mentioned monpoly - but I've always been collecting someting in my life so now that I've stumbled upon this very expensive and oh so tasty thing called single malt whiskey I guess my economy screwed, or at least untill me Mrs. Chef have offspring. Yeah well when the the little poop machine cum money pit arrives I 'm just gonna have drink more than I buy instead of the other way around.

To the 2 peoplewho have had to
'I will not be buying whisky for the foreseeable future. '
i feel for you. Hope things turn around soon.

Me too! Best of luck - and the best of whisk(e)y - to all of you.

[Scotchio]

At my current rate of drinking the bottles I have open should last beyond the current downturn so I'm not buying or reading up on the newer products. However I am very much enjoying the prospect of slowly working through my stockpile, there's a massive range of malts there due to the numerous swaps of samples I did some time back so there's always something interesting waiting for me when i fancy a dram.

[anjana101]

I will be buying what I can get my hands on at a good price. The 2 local liquor stores in my town, I got to be their best friend in this economic sitituation. Since I buy decent amount of bottles. They try to find unique bottles from their distributor. They know I will buy it. Since my city is small we don't get bottles like other major cities. What ever they get, they try to give me at a major discount, for me to come back to them. So I will not be reduceing my spending habit in this economy.

Andrew