Pass Me Another Glass Of That Two Bucks Chuck!

I have decided to either write a new cookbook for work-a-holics living in the budget age or launch a new cooking show on YouTube.

Either way, I am creating some great meal options that are easy to make...and dirt cheap.

Last week I ate out of my home only twice for dinner.

The first place I went was to Captain D’s. The second place was Outback.

It really wasn’t all that long ago when I ate out nearly every night complete with a nice glass of wine or two.

A good friend of mine in real estate set down a new law with her husband that any wine, beer or martini would be consumed at home before they headed out for dinner.

I told her about Two Bucks Chuck and she became an instant fan.

An online newsletter called “Nutrition Unplugged” recently posted the top trends emerging in the restaurant business.

One of those trends, titled “Upscaling The Downscale” hits right on an emerging market change.

The article specifically explains the trend as “consumers trading down in order to trade up” and cites gourmet burgers as an example of the trend in force.

I know this… the Captain D’s fried fish and shrimp meal complete with fried okra and fresh green beans was so good that I was describing the great taste for the $6.99 price to all of my Facebook friends as I ate it!

The reason I tell the story here and the emerging market change is bigger than just what we eat.

It’s hitting where we shop, what we drive, how we decorate, when we travel and why we work.

Most of time when I shop WalMart it’s packed. Most of the time when I shop any of the department stores its not.

Good friends are trading in their Bimmers for Jeeps and Hondas.

I see more store brands in grocery carts.

Sure…despite what the press says, we are in the heart of a recession.

But unlike the past where we will emerge with more secure jobs and return back to charging up the credit cards and aspiring to live the lavish lifestyle, current generations know that that paradigm is gone.

Case in point… if you have never seen ReadyMade Magazine, go down to your nearest grocery store or bookstore and buy it.

I have written about the magazine in this Blog-logue before.

It is emerging as the Millennial Generation's Better Homes & Gardens… although, Better Homes & Gardens is quickly embracing the Millennials as well with a new format and featured columns.

ReadyMade Magazine is all about how new singles, couples and family homesteaders (note I did not say home-owners!) are embracing life on a budget.

It showcases DIY alternatives, stretching the dollar and how to make more from less.

Where Boomers embraced peace and love, the Millennials are embracing each piece of whatever they can get and love finding ways to do so spending less.

Boomers climbed the corporate ladders. Millennials head over to Home Depot and build their own.

By the way, Home Depot is running full-page ads in the current issue of ReadyMade Magazine for their store brand paints.

To combat corporate accusations and downright hate, BP went out and spent a bunch of money on a fancy image television commercial.

It didn’t make it on air more than a week.

It wasn’t what they said, it’s how they said it and how much they spent in doing so.

The new commercials are more like YouTube videos and they've been running for the last two months or so.

Some BIG BUSINESS marketing management cocoons are finally getting it, but a vast majority still haven’t even captured a glimpse of it.

I may be taking a risk in saying that these changes are not temporary, but I will.

Baby Boomers who thought they would enjoy their retirement years will likely continue to work…even when the economy improves.

GenXers who refuse to cut the umbilical cords with their kids will soon be coughing up the cash to send their kids to college.

And the Millennials… well they are the ones fueling everything from ReadyMade Magazine, DIY TV, Property Virgins, Home Depot, McDonald’s Café Coffee, Old Navy and the revamping of Better Homes & Gardens Magazine.

And just as the Boomers clung to their 1960's Peace Movement and changed the marketplace...the Millennials, who are just shy of the same size, cling to their DIY-Budget Bound destiny.

While we are in the heat of the 2010 Hot Georgia Summer… I can already tell you that the observations made in this Blog-logue will be the foundation of the upcoming 2011 Trendcast.

Now pour me another glass of that Two Bucks Chuck.