Charlotte's economy pinched?

Is the economy pinching you?

As my colleague Mark Washburn pointed out in Wednesday’s paper, the effects of the economic slowdown making national headlines are finally being felt here.

Growing up in Charlotte, I’ve always taken pride in the fact that our economic growth has been so strong, we usually don’t feel slowdowns the way the rest of the country does.

But it’s becoming increasingly clear that construction cranes are slowing down, gas prices are crimping commuters and people who list their houses for sale are having a harder time than usual.

I recently added a commute to my job with my switch from reporting to editing. Now I have to drive to our paper’s Matthews bureau office each day, instead of the five minutes from my Elizabeth home I used to drive to the main Observer building uptown. I’ve become increasingly conscious of conserving gas when possible – carpooling, combining errands, eating out somewhere I can walk to or staying in at night.

I used to enjoy taking a lunch hour at Target and leaving with unplanned purchases. No more.

And I figure it’s only a matter of time before we see more fallout among retailers and restaurants, especially the smaller mom-and-pops.

If you have any moneysaving tips to share, please post them on my colleague Celeste Smith’s new Deal of the Day blog.

Meantime, I’m interested in hearing how you’re feeling the economic slowdown. If you’re taking extra steps to pinch pennies, how has your life changed in recent months? How do you think things in Charlotte are changing? Let me know.