ShareThisSarah Krasley, 29, a business management student at the University of San Francisco, is buying small amounts of low-priced stock these days -- and advising friends to follow her example.
Planet Out writer Josh Rotter, 30, isn't rich by any means, but this November, he decided to splurge, purchasing heavily discounted tickets to travel around the East Coast during Christmas.
San Francisco couple Maria McKee, 29, and Stephan Tsochandaris, 31, took an even bigger plunge: The duo bought an Oakland, Calif. condo this month.
"We didn't really start looking until late September, early October," said McKee, who works as a program analyst for the San Francisco Superior Court's Office of Collaborative Justice Programs. Until housing prices tumbled this fall, McKee said, buying property in the San Francisco Bay Area seemed impossible.
For the young people who are employed and don't have crushing debt, mortgages or families to support, the recession can have a silver lining: Previously out-of-reach items are suddenly affordable. As consumer prices fell 1.7 percent in November, the biggest monthly drop on record, some have decided to take advantage of the deals -- though not without caution.
"In a year where we would have expected the consumer to say 'no' to spending, this younger generation -- the young adults who have not had to divert all of their discretionary spending to other family members -- continues to self-indulge," said NPD Market Research Chief Analyst Marshal Cohen. NPD, which tracks consumer spending, is headquartered in Port Washington, N.Y.
"It's not a new concept," Cohen added, noting that "mobile young adult consumers" have always wielded buying power. "It's just a surprise that people are doing it when they are told not to."
Cynthia Jaspar, a consumer spending expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that although young people are vulnerable to job losses during a recession, they will continue to be an important retail sector. Cohen points to the video game industry as a sign that young adult buying power remains strong.
"The fastest-growing market for video games is the adult man, 18 to 35 ... not teens or preteens. Even if they are living at home, they are the least likely to cut back on consumption," he said.
But just because young consumers may be able to afford holiday sales doesn't mean they are spending with abandon.
"It's all about cutting corners," said Rotter, who is using coupons for the first time in his life. Many are using the Internet to compare prices, and others, like San Francisco resident Michelle Quint, 24, want to simply focus on saving: Quint plans on making most of her holiday presents to her friends, even as she considers adding discounted stocks to her portfolio.
Keeping tabs on debt is a big concern. Web designer Omar Lee, 36, bought a flat screen and Apple TV in quick succession this fall. He made both of his purchases with an ATM, not credit, card. "I definitely felt the opportunistic window. Stuff is cheap. But after (the TV purchases), I felt a quick sobering," Lee said. His next concern was making sure he had a "cash cushion" going into 2009.
(E-mail Reyhan Harmanci at rharmanci(at)sfchronicle.com)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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