Brand loyalty two-edged sword for conglomerates

http://www.canada.com/life/BRAND+LOYA...

The morning routine for natural product aficionados could look something like this: after brushing their teeth with Tom's of Maine and moisturizing with Burt's Bees, they enjoy a Kashi bar washed down with Naked Juice.

Purists cry foul as they fear more of their favourite natural brands will go corporate as big companies want in on the action without building up their own brands. Others say this is the only way to bring these eco-products to the masses — and give the environment a bigger boost.
Honestly, now-a-days to find smaller brands without the corporate name behind it takes the time and effort to do so.  I think it does take time to do your research online and a lot of smaller companies do put some effort to put themselves online so that they could communicate the technology savvy types.  Some would also head to the summer farmer's market to garner attention for their products. 
I would not necessary say about myself as a brand loyalists.

How The Average U.S. Consumer Spends Their Paycheck - Visual Economics

http://www.visualeconomics.com/how-th...

Look at the chart for more information

According to the US Department of Labour, transportion certainly takes a chunk out of our wallet. No wonder why our wallets feel a whole lot lighter.  We eat a lot less in these hard times. May I inquire why pensions are so high?  I do understand why on health insurance? 
In Canada, most of these numbers would be similar, though we would adjust a few numbers, such as insurance, health, and taxes(because we pay more in taxes).  

Can two people eat on $67 a week?

http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/to...

We were considering buying a house and the economy seemed shaky, so it was a good time to tighten our belts, she said. We would live on $72 worth of food a week, she explained, about the same amount a family of two in California would get in food stamps.

In these trying economic times, this article stood out and now I ponder, can I eat for 67bucks a week?  hmmm, I tried, but I will go pretty skimpy without my veggies or essential vitamins.  I also would have to go without organic, nondairy cheeses, fresh vegetables, fruits, soy milk, (they are well, not cheap by litres), or those beans.  Remember, beans aren't cheap at all by itself, you need the spices, that's expensive or else you will have a tasteless meal and don't forget the tomatoes. 
I always want to cut the expenses, and do I ever, groceries will be the last few to be sacrificed.  That is a luxury for the people below poverty?? 

There would be some thinking of the following until the past couple of months 2008 a year of financial turbulence.  Would you be concerned when your bank had/have its power off, although not on their own fault, does not have a power generator to back up in case of outage?  Would you be questioning if your financial data's are safely backup already in the first place prior to any outage?  Would you be wondering how banks or financial institutions would keep your information safe in the case of natural disasters? 
Suggestion(s)
1. Back up generator(s)
2. Back up data
3. Banks emergency response systems
4. Any more suggestions?

Oldcdn20

Mon3y

Lets say goodbye to a long list of web 2.0 applications, these are just a few coming soon or already went down to the grave?:
Uber.com
AOL Journals
Yahoo Mash
AOL (various blogs)
Yahoo bookmarks
and probably more due to the economic downturn. 
As always with the downturn, the upside would be: more takeovers?  It could be good or it could be, less games to play around..less choices, less confusion, more time for those that you love.

Are you eating out less frequently?  Purchasing less food?  Purchasing less gasoline?  Purchasing less essentials?  Skipping your meals and feeding your children first?  Paying the bills on-time.  Walking or biking everywhere?  Hyper-miling?  Turning your lights off and renting less videos? 
In the Treehugger post- I noted a picture that reminded me of 1930s The Great Depression?