Small luxuries make tough times easier

By Savannah Cummings, Journal staff, with wire reports | Monday, November 03, 2008

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Gas prices may have creeped down to a less gasp-inducing number in Rapid City, but the effects of high food costs and an uneasy economy are still being felt across the country — and close to home. But there are some luxury items that people aren’t willing to give up, no matter what the cost.

Consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow says that’s healthy, especially given the stomach-churning financial reports.

Small indulgences, she says, are “like life’s punctuations.”

“They take a normal progression and they give it a little zest here and there,” said Yarrow, a professor of business and psychology at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. “Even in a down economy, when people are getting smaller luxuries, they’re even more important. We need to feel bolstered. We need to feel delighted.”

Some have even dubbed it the “lipstick factor” — the theory that when times get tough, the tough seek comfort in small purchases.

Headlines Academy on the corner of Main and Sixth streets in Rapid City has seen this phenomenon at work. Owner Peggy Sproat says despite the economy, the beauty academy has seen service and product sales go up almost 17 percent over last year.

An advantage of Headlines is that because it is a school, its prices are cheaper than other salons in the area. Customers can get a massage for $25, Sproat said, and the massage portion is almost always full.

“(Customers) are still coming in and getting all the extras done,” she said, including manicures, pedicures and full-service hair styling.

She agrees with Yarrow about the reason.

“When you feel bad about everything else, it is one thing that always makes you feel better about yourself,” Sproat said.

Deidre Wolf, 24, of Rapid City is a model for Headlines student Lynsi Gallipo, and gets her services for free in exchange for letting her head be practiced on.

“I would never pay this much to get (my hair done),” Wolf said.

She also isn’t willing to give up her Dr. Pepper or her cell phone, no matter how bad the economy gets. To cut expenses, she and her husband downgraded their Ford Explorer to a more fuel-efficient Mercury.

Gallipo, 24, of Rapid City, said it seems slower in the salon since school started, but she has seen the economy’s impact more at her other job at Joe’s Place on Highway 79. Business at the bar usually picks up in the winter months, she said, but she’s seen regulars who used to come in five days a week scale it back to three. And the tips aren’t as good as they once were.

Personally, Gallipo said she won’t give up the 24-ounce iced vanilla latte she gets on a regular basis from Dunn Brothers.

“I won’t give up my coffee,” she said.

Yarrow encourages everyone, if they are able, to set aside even a tiny amount of cash for treats now and then.

“Little luxuries can save you money in the long run,” she said. “If you allow yourself planned treats, it can make you feel satiated. It’s just like dieting. You can stay on a program better if you allow yourself to go ahead and indulge.”

Michele Ladenburger and Sue Crossman, both of Rapid City, were enjoying a cup of coffee at Alternative Fuel on Monday. Both women say they’ve cut back on driving, trying to do all their errands at once to save gas and taking fewer trips to the mall. But Ladenburger said she won’t cut back or scrimp on her haircuts and color.

Crossman is willing to make an exchange – she’ll go out less for lunches during the work week, “but I won’t cut back on getting together with my friends,” she said.

Taryn Tippman, 23, of Rapid City, said she has made small sacrifices for her pocketbook. She will now go an extra two weeks or so between getting her hair colored, but she won’t give it up completely.

“People should still try to treat themselves,” Tippman said as she sat in a salon chair at Mystique Edge on Seventh Street.

Stylist Brandy Dillman said October is always a slow month for salons, but business is still good. It is important to her clients to look good and feel good about themselves, and they are willing to spend the money to do it.

“I’m single; I like to treat myself,” Dillman said. “I work for my money, so I want to buy things (that I like).”

Yarrow’s small splurge is a pricey skin-care product that brings her a little happiness every morning she uses it, she said.

“We need those” little luxuries, she said. “We need them now more than ever.”

Contact Savannah Cummings at 394-8434 or savannah.cummings@rapidcityjournal.com.