SOUTH BEND — Dismal economic news has people concerned about jobs, finances, and their future. More and more people so badly want to know what's in their future, they aren't waiting for it to happen.

They want a heads-up. So for psychics, business these days is booming.

For Barbara the Gray Witch, tarot cards are the tools of the trade, and she's been using them for clients more often.

She said, "For me, the more that they cry 'the sky is falling, the economy is looking bad,' the bigger my clientele."

She says business has tripled. The questions people ask Barbara aren't about love anymore, as lately, it's been about finances.

"Now, I become a business advisor on how to manage their money," she said.

Her clients are from around the world.

"They'll ask me about their businesses and how'll they'll go this year," said Barbara, who did not use her surname for this story.

"That's always a main concern."

"Believe it or not, they'll listen to me more than their business advisors," she said.

Along with the reading comes a dose of reality.

"They want to make an appointment in hopes that I'll give them lottery numbers," she said. "If I could give lottery numbers, do you think I'd talk to them on the phone? I'd be in Vegas as a billionaire."

She says a client thousands of dollars in debt hoped a magic spell would change her life.

"She's maxed out every one of her credit cards, and (then) wanted me to wave a magic wand over her head and make it right," she said.

Barbara the Gray Witch says, in reality, it's not magic, it's common sense.

She says clients are not always happy about her response.

"They're hoping I can go 'O genie, genie genie,' and things are just wiped away," she said. "Eventually they listen."

So what's in the cards?

"I say the future is bright, but people have to stop whining about everything and panicking about everything," she said. "It's time to get your head out of the clouds, stop charging constantly and living out of your means."