the buzz log

Come rain, sleet, or bad economy, the wedding will still go on. Like Pacific gray whales heading to Mexico, brides-to-be are migrating toward the Web to seek inspiration, deals, and um, prenups.

An iron vein of pragmatism runs through otherwise ivory-laced visions of wedding planning. Searches on Yahoo! for "prenuptial agreements" have percolated recently, a tender topic explored at a time when people are already feeling raw over the economy. The potentially affianced are checking for "free nuptial agreements," "sample nuptial agreement," and "prenuptial agreements checklist." While Askmen takes on a more protect-thyself-against-the-vultures tone, some may be considering if the whole concept's a bad idea ("prenuptial agreement negatives," "bad influence of prenuptial agreements") because it offers a pre-arranged escape route rather than locking couples into a I-do-or-die mindset.

As for those escape routes, some are reviewing pay-out clauses, which subs in a lump-sum cash-out rather than monthly alimony in an event of a divorce, and the infidelity dealbreaker. (Much more pragmatic than the prenups used as a kind of glorified new-life-resolutions package, like lose 50 pounds or no marital relations.)

While SFGate reported last year that "no reliable figures" exist for prenup popularity (and after all, marriage itself has been on the decline for decades), but couples are getting hitched at an older age, may have had a marriage or two already in their personal resume, and so have more assets to protect. Ultimately, though, prenups may just be one way for otherwise dreamy-eyed couples to reconcile their financial compatibility before the reality of the first credit card bill. A slightly romantic alternative that a handful have been exploring in Search: "irrevocable trust alternative to prenuptial."

In less pessimistic news, far more searches have spiked for more ceremonial fare, including "wedding venues" (+669%), "wedding cake designs" (+558%), and, naturally attracting the most online attention, the all-important bridal "wedding dress." The most popular outfit? Cheap, followed by Vera Wang-designed, Hawaiian-style, strapless, and black. Check out what other wedding-related searches have been stewing this past week:

Filed under: Finances, Weddings, Law

The money experts didn't need to tell ordinary no-longer-working joes that the economy isn't good, but who doesn't appreciate a little validation? In the past several days, the most popular news stories (other than primary coverage) have been about some unwelcome all-time highs: auto repossessions (highest since 1998), job cuts (deepest since 2003), oil prices (highest ever), and foreclosures (highest ever).

The news got so bad that the president comped to a "clear" slowdown while reminding people about the "booster shot" coming their way. The reminder put aside searches for "surviving a recession" long enough to revive impatient queries into "economic stimulus package" and "rebate checks." Indeed, even the term "irs spokesman john" came under Search fire, after one John Lipold confirmed in an AP story that IRS letters were coming—at a $42 mil cost—to explain how the checks were coming.

Search signs of a sick market have risen as well: "Stagflation" queries have more than doubled since January, and "recession" searches continue to rise unabated. It takes two negative quarters to have a recession, which the economy hasn't suffered, but the lookups speak to the perception. Questions about "what is inflation" rose +102% in the past 30 days, and people have been estimating the "inflation rate" on their own by checking an online "inflation calculator." Opportunists who scoured "foreclosure listings" and "government tax foreclosures" have dropped off, and "real estate investments" searches have declined.

Despite cold hard economic numbers, people have been been making do: figuring out whether to "rent or buy a house" (+235%), using a "cheap gas price finder" (+137%) to save at the pump, seeking "credit card debt relief" (+37%), and finding a way to support themselves, as the below list of employment and unemployment shows.

1. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (+209%)
2. California Department of Unemployment (+201%)
3. Walmart Employment Applications (+189%)
4. Indiana Unemployment Uplink (+129%)
5. Wisconsin Unemployment Weekly Claim (+115%)
6. City of Houston Employment (+61%)
7. Temporary Employment Agencies (+24%)
8. USPS.com/employment (+10%)
9. City of Chicago Employment City Jobs (+9%)
10. Target Stores Employment (+8%)

Interestingly, number one is a federal agency which recently released a report denoting another misbegotten high: a rise in job discrimination complaints. And according to one source, a worsening economy likely begets more complaints. Forget booster shots—maybe radiation therapy's in order here.

Filed under: Finances, Employment, Jobs, Money, Housing, Economics

Home prices are through the roof, and the cost of gas is keeping us out of the driver's seat. These days it sure feels like it's cheaper to rent than it is to buy. Things are so tight, we pretty much rent everything around here, from fashion handbags to the movies we watch. Pay $20 to own one DVD, or rent as many as you want in a month for the same price? Not a tough choice, really. We know we're not alone so we decided to poke around and see what other people are looking for with "rent" and "rental" searches...

Looks like the old adage is true: "Ain't nothing going on but the rent."

Filed under: Finances