Household Finance - Frugality is Not Enough!
By Susan Boskey
Time.com calls it "The New Frugality" and refers to the U.S. as "Thrift Nation". Frugality has finally earned its 15 minutes of fame! As the economic downturn wiped out at least 25% of American's wealth via recent stock market losses and foreclosures and unemployment still loom large for millions of families, frugality is in! Secondhand, Craigslist, garage sales, thrift stores, barter exchange - you name it. The new competition is the rush to see who can pay the least!
Of course frugality is far from being new. Many Baby Boomers like myself have had parents raised during The Great Depression. Their motto? Waste not. Want not. Not only did we hear the stories of saving string, growing victory gardens, canning food for the pantry and sewing clothes by hand and treadle sewing machine, but also many of us lived with their sometimes extreme-frugality habits. For example, up till around 2000, my now nearly 90 year old father dried his clothes on a clothes rack in the bathtub year-round even though he did not have to.
Frugal can definitely be fun! Not unlike our hunter and gatherer ancestors, frugality (that careful management of anything valuable which expends nothing unnecessarily, and applies what is used to a profitable purpose) revives the joy of the hunt. Nothing could be much more satisfying than finding a J-Jill clothing item for $2.00 or a barely-used computer that is practically being given away. So I say, now why should I pay retail?
For mainstream media, frugality may be just another passing trend. Economic recovery is already on the lips of some forecasters. In the not too distant future we may well see a shift to short-term relief as regards jobs and the housing market. However given over 14 trillion dollars of new money recently dumped into the system (Bloomberg) and much of it loaned at interest, "the proof will be in the pudding". Historically, when a central-bank increases the money supply the result is increased loss of purchasing power for the public via inflation. Another way of saying it is that increasing deficits decrease the value of currency. Plus, over time deficits grow exponentially (at an accelerated pace) due to compounding interest.
Frugality as a function of how we spend is here to stay if you catch my drift. That said, I've known people who become addicted to "penny pinching" much the same but just the opposite of the shopaholic who cannot control their overspending. The "penny pincher", on the other hand, can be blinded (penny wise and pound foolish) to those places in their life where spending would be to their benefit and preferable. Out-of-pocket spending for preventive health care including quality vitamins and alternative health-care practitioners, for high quality meats and produce, for private health-care insurance and for investing in sound ways to increase one's cash flow are just a few examples of how spending strategically makes sense.
Since money in a debt-based system is always worth the most today, strategic spending means you will get more for your money today than you will tomorrow, next month, next year or 5 years from now!
Just for fun, here's a couple of websites you may want to check out.
Virtualdr.com - free computer troubleshooting
Simpleliving.net - frugal living tips
Zenhabits.net - cheapskates guide
Homeeconomista.com - America's cheapest family
Freeshipping.org - company's that are shipping for free
Freecycle.com - everything free
Frugality measures are fantastic but just the tip of the iceberg; a great start towards a comprehensive plan to thrive in both good times and bad.
Susan Boskey is an alternative financial consultant and author of the book, The Quality Life Plan: 7 Steps to Uncommon Financial Security. Learn more at http://www.AlternativeFinancialNow.com where you can sign up for a free e-course. The author breaks new ground in the personal finance arena with an updated personal finance formula that proves the critical need for an alternative approach to how we think about, earn, spend, save and invest money. Everyday people are empowered with information and tools to sustain financial and personal well-being even in today's economic environment.
By Susan Boskey
Time.com calls it "The New Frugality" and refers to the U.S. as "Thrift Nation". Frugality has finally earned its 15 minutes of fame! As the economic downturn wiped out at least 25% of American's wealth via recent stock market losses and foreclosures and unemployment still loom large for millions of families, frugality is in! Secondhand, Craigslist, garage sales, thrift stores, barter exchange - you name it. The new competition is the rush to see who can pay the least!
Of course frugality is far from being new. Many Baby Boomers like myself have had parents raised during The Great Depression. Their motto? Waste not. Want not. Not only did we hear the stories of saving string, growing victory gardens, canning food for the pantry and sewing clothes by hand and treadle sewing machine, but also many of us lived with their sometimes extreme-frugality habits. For example, up till around 2000, my now nearly 90 year old father dried his clothes on a clothes rack in the bathtub year-round even though he did not have to.
Frugal can definitely be fun! Not unlike our hunter and gatherer ancestors, frugality (that careful management of anything valuable which expends nothing unnecessarily, and applies what is used to a profitable purpose) revives the joy of the hunt. Nothing could be much more satisfying than finding a J-Jill clothing item for $2.00 or a barely-used computer that is practically being given away. So I say, now why should I pay retail?
For mainstream media, frugality may be just another passing trend. Economic recovery is already on the lips of some forecasters. In the not too distant future we may well see a shift to short-term relief as regards jobs and the housing market. However given over 14 trillion dollars of new money recently dumped into the system (Bloomberg) and much of it loaned at interest, "the proof will be in the pudding". Historically, when a central-bank increases the money supply the result is increased loss of purchasing power for the public via inflation. Another way of saying it is that increasing deficits decrease the value of currency. Plus, over time deficits grow exponentially (at an accelerated pace) due to compounding interest.
Frugality as a function of how we spend is here to stay if you catch my drift. That said, I've known people who become addicted to "penny pinching" much the same but just the opposite of the shopaholic who cannot control their overspending. The "penny pincher", on the other hand, can be blinded (penny wise and pound foolish) to those places in their life where spending would be to their benefit and preferable. Out-of-pocket spending for preventive health care including quality vitamins and alternative health-care practitioners, for high quality meats and produce, for private health-care insurance and for investing in sound ways to increase one's cash flow are just a few examples of how spending strategically makes sense.
Since money in a debt-based system is always worth the most today, strategic spending means you will get more for your money today than you will tomorrow, next month, next year or 5 years from now!
Just for fun, here's a couple of websites you may want to check out.
Virtualdr.com - free computer troubleshooting
Simpleliving.net - frugal living tips
Zenhabits.net - cheapskates guide
Homeeconomista.com - America's cheapest family
Freeshipping.org - company's that are shipping for free
Freecycle.com - everything free
Frugality measures are fantastic but just the tip of the iceberg; a great start towards a comprehensive plan to thrive in both good times and bad.
Susan Boskey is an alternative financial consultant and author of the book, The Quality Life Plan: 7 Steps to Uncommon Financial Security. Learn more at http://www.AlternativeFinancialNow.com where you can sign up for a free e-course. The author breaks new ground in the personal finance arena with an updated personal finance formula that proves the critical need for an alternative approach to how we think about, earn, spend, save and invest money. Everyday people are empowered with information and tools to sustain financial and personal well-being even in today's economic environment.
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