Herald-Whig Staff Writer

Erin Woodworth attends college full time, works nearly 30 hours a week and lives in the outskirts of Payson.

The 19-year-old has scrapped frivolous shopping, dining out often with friends and driving unless completely necessary.

"It's very hard for a college student to pay for school and gas and everything else," she said. "I hope the prices go back down for the good of everybody."

Economists say the teen spending slump could be the worst in 17 years, when teen frugality led to the demise of once-hot Merry-Go-Round Enterprises and brought in the times of flannel shirts and jeans with holes.

In March, retailers serving teen consumers suffered an 8 percent drop in sales at established stores. Those under 20, though, are still spending on electronics such as cell phones and MP3 players, analysts say.

Deloitte Research chief economist Carl Steidtmann says the difference this time around is the soaring cost of basics such as food and gas, which could reach $4 a gallon this summer.

A UBS-International Council of Shopping Centers tally says sales at teen-oriented retail outlets open at least a year averaged a 0.5 percent decline last year, compared to a 3.3 percent increase in 2006 and a 12.1 percent gain in 2005.

Greg Lee, John Wood Community College business department chairman, recently polled students under 20. Out of 51 responses, 40 said rising prices have forced them to become more thrifty.

"It was quite an interesting take," Lee said. "And their comments are an interesting indicator of how times have become tough. Everybody feels the effects of those rising prices."

That's something Woodworth, who attends JWCC and wants to be an accountant, agrees with. She sees it firsthand at her job at Elder's, where she makes $4.90 an hour plus tips -- tips she relies heavily on.

"Nobody's going out to eat, they can't afford it," she said. "That hurts us in the process."

She lives with her parents because she can't afford to have an apartment by herself. She pays for her own car insurance, makes her own car payment and is putting herself through school. She's saving up for items for her dorm room when she transfers to a four-year university, but even that's getting difficult.

"I used to shop a lot at the mall and buy clothes, shoes and Dairy Queen," she said. "It's not an option anymore unless I absolutely need it."

Quincy Notre Dame junior Emily Hilbert lives in Hannibal, Mo., and drives to and from Quincy for school.

"I think the prices are ridiculous," she said. "I really have to watch my mileage and I can't just joyride ... and it's cheaper to buy a movie when it comes out on DVD than to go watch it in theaters. That way I can at least watch it a billion times instead of just once."

She baby-sits when she can, hoards holiday and birthday cash and sometimes even her lunch money. Her parents buy her a tank of gas a week, but she has to pay for anything over that.

Casey Marquess is 18 and a senior at Liberty High School. She works in Quincy and pays for her own insurance and gas. It's expensive, but there's not much that can be done about it, she said.

"People have to drive," she said. "People like going to the movies and they are going to continue to do what they like."

As soon as she started having to buy extra clothes on her own, though, "I didn't want those things as much anymore. Suddenly $100 jeans are not that important."

Marquess works about three times a week at Deb, a junior clothing store, in the Quincy Mall. Her manager, Nancy Trone, believes she's going to start seeing requests from her out-of-town workers for longer shifts than just 3 1/2 hours.

"These girls have to buy their own gas, and you can only offer them small shifts," she said. "If they are working at minimum wage, that eats up their money pretty quickly."

"We're trying to expand the shifts to accommodate for the economy for the kids," she said. "They haven't so much come to me, but I'm sitting here with six grandkids and I know what it's doing to them. It's working on everybody's nerves and something needs to be done. It's not good on these kids, especially the ones that really want to work."

Lee said his students, who are in business, accounting and economic classes, have discussed the economy at length. Discussions always come back to gas prices.

"If they are spending extra money on gas, then suddenly there's less money for everything else," he said. "There's a increase in prices and goods so we see a change in their lifestyle."

Woodworth said she and her friends used to have lunch about every day after class. That's not happening so much anymore.

As one JWCC student wrote on the survey form, "I come up to Quincy to go to school twice a week and then after that I have no money to go out and have fun on the weekends. It's a real bummer."

The Associated Press contributed to this report

-- jbusen@whig.com/221-3385