Trend Alert 1: WWGD? What Would Grandma Do?

From the upcoming Trend Report: OH SNAP!  How To Snap Back During These Unsettling New Times.

TREND 1.

It was no surprise President-Elect Obama gave so much credit for his success in life to his beloved late Grandmother ‘Toot.’ Grandmothers have long been the rockbed of solid values, common sense and abiding love. Some 2.5 million children in our country are being raised by their Grandmas, ensuring that new generations are growing up with daily nudges about thrift, frugality, common sense and substance, along with hefty helpings of broccoli and roast chicken with too much limp parsley.

If Grandmothers had been in charge, Wall Street would never have imploded, gas would never have hit $4.99 a gallon, little Johnny would never max out his Visa and no one would have heard of IndyMac or AIG. No one would be subsisting on high fructose corn syrup, partly hydrogenated fats and maltodextrin. No one would be suffering from an extended case of Affluenza, feverishly fed by what Grandma would call “stuff and nonsense.”

This is why so many savvy folks on the brink of life and business decisions are asking themselves one key question: WWGD? What Would Grandma Do?

Here’s a SNAPSHOT from OH SNAP! on Grandma’s Financial Policies:

• Grandma would applaud KMart for its return to the Layaway Plan. 
• Grandma would mourn the Sarah Palin who shopped at Saks while applauding her for (formerly) bringing the whole family in to buy at Anchorage’s Out of The Closet secondhand store.
• Grandma would applaud the rise in trust of local banks — 66% of consumers in a recent study said they had confidence in local banks, versus fewer than 25% trust US banks.
• Grandma would applaud signing up for the local bank’s Christmas Club. Remember Grandma put $5 in her Christmas Club account every week or month –frugally setting aside her ‘egg money’ (okay, sorry that was Aunt Bea) so by Christmas she would have a nestegg to spend on really scratchy sweaters and odd wooden toys for the grandchildren.
• Grandma gave you US Savings Bonds on your birthday. (Okay, not so fun)
• No credit cards, no interest rates, no late fees. Cash is king, especially when saved painlessly week by week.
• Grandma knew no one in Nigeria, much less a Prince who left her money.

Here is a smattering of folks who asked  WWGD? — and mashed up Grandma Values with Social Media so we can all snap back together in these unsettling times:

Freecycle

Paperback Swap

Gussy Green

Oofo

etsy.com

If things get really tough, Grandma would find herself a part-time job, probably by social networking with her canasta group. She could always take up knitting, like these famous Swiss Net Grannies, who will personally knit you a pair of socks. Just pick your Granny!

Guru’s Update: Sears has now joined the Layaway revival trend.

Stay tuned for Trend 2:  The New Potluck Economy.