Austin pawn shops have yet to feel the crunch of the economy, even though their customers are beginning to.

At Austin Pawn and Jewelry, there's plenty to choose from.

"TV’s, electronics, movies -- big sellers for us. A lot of jewelry. They've got a big anniversary coming up they want a very special ring, Rolex’s," said Joaquin Salazar, pawn broker.

Salazar says business is solid despite the unstable economy.

"Business is for us is generally right on point to where we average out around this month -- definitely a higher volume of loans, a higher volume of sales," said Salazar.

Salazar adds that he's noticed the urgency in some customer's sales -- people stressed out with the slowing economy, short on cash and looking to make a quick buck.

"We have seen a bit of an increase on new customers, which is never a bad thing for us. We definitely want to try and help them out, get them loans and what they need, and hopefully, they come back and pick it up," said Salazar.

Dr. Steve Berkowitz, the chief medical officer for St. David’s Health Care says stress is a given these days. As the Dow plummets, heart rates and blood pressure can soar.

Berkowitz says it's not clear whether stress itself is bad or what it makes people do.

"They tend not to do the very things that would be healthy for them otherwise. People tend to exercise less; people tend to eat worse," said Berkowitz.

And in some cases, sell off valuables to hopefully, make ends meet.