The New Frugality: Americans Return to Thriftiness
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The New Frugality: Americans return to thriftiness
By DAN SEWELL, AP Business Writer
(11-19) 11:48 PST (AP) -- Frugality is making a comeback.
Fearful that economic conditions could get worse and stay that way, Americans are showing an enthusiasm for thriftiness not seen in decades.
This behavioral shift isn't simply about spending less. The New Frugality emphasizes stretching every dollar. It means bypassing the fashion mall for the discount chain store, buying secondhand clothes and furniture, or trading down to store brands.
There's more business for repairmen and less for salesmen. Consumers are clipping more coupons and swiping their credit cards less.
Not long ago, yoga teacher Gisele Sanders shopped at the Nordstrom's in Portland, Ore., and didn't think twice about dropping $30 for a bottle of Chianti to go with dinner. That was before her husband, a real estate agent, began to feel the brunt of slowing home sales.
Now Sanders, 53, picks up grocery-store wine at $10 or less per bottle, shops for used clothes and plans to take her mother's advice about turning down the thermostat during winter. "It's been a long time coming," she said. "We were so off the charts before."
That kind of scrimping may be good for stressed family budgets, but it's bad for the nation's overall economy — and that has the potential to reinforce the miserly mood. Yet with home prices, 401(k)s and job stability suffering, such frugality is likely to be more than a fad.
"It is a whole reassessment of values," said Candace Corlett, president of the consulting firm WSL Strategic Retail. "We've just been shopping until we drop and consuming and buying it all, and replenishing before things wear out. People are learning again to say 'No, not today.'"
Continue at: http://tinyurl.com/67d9mz
output
rat,
the other, other white meat.
Try Long Pig..
The other other white meat..
http://findarticles.com/p...
I heard a rumor,
that soylent green is people.
“The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.”
-- Herbert Spencer
Denmark was plagued by a serious food shortage
"The value of whole, unrefined foods .was dramatically demonstrated on a grand scale during the First World War. Denmark was plagued by a serious food shortage. The government assigned Dr. M. Hindhede, the director of the Danish Institute of Nutrition Research, to design a program for protecting the nation from the hunger threat.
The first action of Hindhede was to increase whole- grain production by limiting livestock production and curtailing the sale of meat, thus saving grain for human consumption. Production of alcoholic beverages was banned for the same reason. Also, grain processing was stopped and only whole-grain bread and cereals were allowed to be sold. Farmers were directed and encouraged to produce more grain, green vegetables, fruits, milk and butter, instead of meat."
"These simple, but from a nutritional standpoint revolutionary , changes in eating habits resulted in spectacular and rapid changes in the health condition of the whole nation. The death rate dropped over 40% in one year. Diseases that affected other European countries, including the dreaded influenza epidemic, bypassed Denmark. In only a few years, Denmark became the healthiest nation in all of Europe! " (p. 46)
http://www.liferesearchun...
I hate these types of stories...
...that we are now seeing in the media about how "hard" Americans have it during this economic downturn. $10 wine at the grocery store is still a luxury. Why don't they ever focus on one of the many American families who can't afford it?
Are you a "Coupon Mom" fan?
If not, you should be. Back in the day, it was called "Cut Out Hunger". I've been going to the site for approximately 7 years now. Just today, I went to the local Walgreens and bought $23.59 worth of items. I only spent $9.90. That was a savings of about 58%. There have been numerous occasions where the stores actually pay me to take items.
http://www.couponmom.com/
You're my kind of shopper!
I do a different website, but the same basic principle.
I have managed to build a great stockpile of household goods & food while actually cutting my budget......Buy more but spend much less. Sounds crazy, but it works.
It would be nice to post some coupon sites here
I usually just clip coupons from the Sunday newspaper but I know there are other sites out there where I could save even more.
Getting by on $10 wine, huh?
I hit up the outlet stores and find $200 French wines for $8 or less all the time, and some great coastal California varieties for $4 or less. Too bad I can't find a way to turn a profit on them before the wife and I consume them...
************
http://www.pyrabang.com - the Patriot newsfeed machine that will take a huge bite out of Google's ad profits and put them in your pocket!
Did you know that
Bear's Lair wine, sold at Trader Joe's for $5/bottle, is actually made by Kendall-Jackson? FYI! I was thrifty before thrifty was cool!
The Goodwills around here are Busy
and Rock..
I got some great sweaters for 4.47 and I needed a new coat and bought a good leather coat for 5 bucks. I go on days when certain color tags are marked 50%.
It is said that my ancestors invented wire. A copper coin was dropped between two brothers 1,000 years ago and they fought over it and pulled the first wire. Not wanting to waste the copper they invented Jewelry.
I am glad this is happening.
This along with all the national store closings...
Anyone else want to see the return of 'main street'? The return of the family owned business (small shops, hardware stores, farming supplies, tailors, repairmen) that doesn't get pwned by large corporations with their litigation. The return of the family farm that produces wholesome local food and goods for the surrounding populace. Local restaurants that utilize these goods to produce cheaper, healthier and culture driven food.
The reintroduction of culture, instead of the mass produced culture brought by TV, ads and propaganda. Real culture, where distinct locals are known by their attitudes, local products and sense of self-worth.
Yes it is a step back from the 'progress' of mass consumption, but is that bad?
Make local, buy local and don't forget to trade... empower your fellow local citizens instead of huge multinational corporations.
hopefully being self
hopefully being self sufficient and bartering will return. Offering services for goods can actually help us all. Get rid of the junk coming from over seas and learn to live within our means.
Maybe this will even get families back together in the same communities.
Culturally, it's very good.
Culturally, it's very good. But do you want to see 50 million new welfare recipients, and unemployment so severe we have south-central L.A.-style riots? At a time when both parties are socialist and the loonies are in charge of the asylum? That's the question.
SUPPORT OUR FOUNDERS' AMERICA
Support the Constitution of the United States
Yeah, I didn't really think of it like that.
Sometimes I forget that big cities exist, and that the masses want welfare.
Where I live, things have gotten much better. More small farms, more farmer's markets... a couple of family owned restaurants and a few small boutiques producing local goods (soap, cheese, wine, beer, etc). Here, I don't think people will riot or go crazy. They will simply tighten their belts and depend on their community of family and friends rather than the gov't.
I beg to differ. . .
"That kind of scrimping may be good for stressed family budgets, but it's bad for the nation's overall economy "
Where does the assumption come from that says if the people are frugal and understand values and life, that the country will suffer? This is ridiculous. If the strength of a country is the fortitude of its people, than we are going in the right direction with the frugality mode.
It's good for the economy in
It's good for the economy in one sense, but very bad for the bloated consumerist structure that sprawls across America in city after city. There are numerous Outlet Malls in small rural towns that will be closing down. There are numerous strip malls in the exurbs that will become commercial ghost towns. The expensive frou-frou commercial yuppie park developments in the heart of America's big cities will revert to being high crime zones. Many chain and franchise restaurants, including fast food chains, will start closing their doors in huge numbers. Many jobs will disappear permanently.
This is not good for the economy, despite the fact that it's moving in a sound, intelligent direction, because it will create great upheaval due to a pending wave of massive unemployment. And whenever the Democrats control the White House and Congress is a scary time to see forty or fifty million potential welfare recipients hitting the streets. We are in for economic disaster on a massive scale. Bailouts and the Plunge Protection Team cannot prevent it, or even slow the descent of the sinking ship.
The only good news is that Main Street businesses and flea markets will probably grow stronger after the retail malls shut down, and there will be more small businesses selling at the grassroots, probably on an untaxed black market.
SUPPORT OUR FOUNDERS' AMERICA
Support the Constitution of the United States
It is a transition to a new economy.
You mention, "The only good news is that Main Street businesses and flea markets will probably grow stronger after the retail malls shut down, and there will be more small businesses selling at the grassroots, probably on an untaxed black market."
Small business is good for the country. I know this transition will hurt us in the short term but it just seems so much more healthy. The consumer purchasing bubble is bursting and now the market has to correct itself. I think from these coming hard times, the ingenuity of America will be reborn and new inventions will emerge.
The spending/consumerism was bankrupting the country monetarily and in a sense morally. I am optimistic that as we all adjust and find our way through these coming hardships, we will reignite the Liberty loving bubble. People will go back to their roots and what better root can we have than the constitution and the spirit of independence?
This is what I hope for. Thanks for responding to my post. I appreciate your comments.
Just don't expect any smooth
Just don't expect any smooth transitions, is what I am saying.
Also, this sort of collapse is dangerous when the people in charge want to nationalize the entire US economy.
SUPPORT OUR FOUNDERS' AMERICA
Support the Constitution of the United States
RELAX!
Dig your well, water your garden, grow your fruit and vegetables, read a good book, sip a beer in the hammock, talk with your neighbors, play games, strum the guitar, write your friends and family and enjoy lots of making love with your lover. Watch the materialistic greed mongers cry as they loose there luxury sled, their second and third homes on the lake, their yachts and other representations of their bloated world.
My wife and I
Have been clipping coupons and looking for the best deals for the last few months. The last time we went shopping we saved more money than we spent.
Give Me Freedom
If Tyranny And Oppression Come To This Land, It Will Be In The
Guise Of Fighting A Foreign Enemy. James Madison