The New Frugality: Americans return to thriftiness
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....
Bob Nardelli ruined Home Depot. I don't understand why anyone thought he would do otherwise with Chrysler. He's a lot like Carly Fiorina with a similar track record.
kenny wrote: Everywhere I went this past weekend (mall, restaurants, shops) business was booming. I mean BOOMING. The only place I went where it looked slower than usual was Home Depot.
Scott McMahan wrote: I hear it, but I don't see it. This is the most cleverly disguised recession ever when I look around at people shopping, etc.
Well, you are looking at one side, and we are seeing it from another. The people who have been buying for investment are no longer doing so. Contracts are falling through, and caution is bringing business to a screeching halt.
Perhaps, the people shopping at the mall and eating at the restaurants are maxing out their credit cards with no intention of paying, and maybe even filing for bankruptcy. People tend to do such crazy things when they are habitually living on the edge and lack a sense of responsibility for their actions, and want to satisfy immediate cravings. This is also the pattern of those who feel "entitled" to a lifestyle beyond their means.
OTOH, those who plan and save and meet their obligations feel resentment when their investments tumble with the market, while those living recklessly expect a handout from the government.
We are East of Eden and eating the Grapes of Wrath.
kenny wrote: I wonder how much of this recession we're supposed to be in is media induced. I also wonder how much the fact that we have elected a Marxist (communist?) president is affecting the stock market's nose dive.
Atlanta, Georgia, I understand is one of the areas that is marked for prosperity, to benefit from the new ports and commerce to be entering from the south, the NAFTA Highway. I wonder if this has anything to do with things the way you describe. Credit has closed its doors pretty much, even for school loans, and businesses are closing their doors. Crime is already increasing. I think after Christmas we'll start to see grocery stores with empty shelves and people starting to go nuts when they realize the government isn't going to help them and that things are not going to get fixed. Obama is hiring the worst thugs and racketeers from the Clinton and Bush administrations. The lowering of oil prices is keeping things from crashing at warp speed, but the Illuminati is going to hike the prices up again soon. They are lowering them in order to bankrupt the Arabs. This economic crash is deliberately caused, and worldwide, the purpose being to bring on the NWO tyranny.
"Rich or poor, we all face the problem of money. But is money chiefly a personal problem, how we use our own resources? Or a societal problem, how we organize the economy? Jacques Ellul exposes the folly of a purely societal approach-whether communism, collectivism, socialism or capitalism-and argues for individual responsibility. Money, he says, is not neutral, something we can use as we like. Instead it is a powerful agent that sets itself against God's kingdom. Tracing the scriptural attitudes toward wealth from Old Testament sacramentalism through New Testament renunciation, he challenges Christians to live by the law of grace and not by the law of the marketplace."
I agree with Scott. My wife & I were in a very expensive restaurant in Atlanta tonight and it was packed (like always). There was a large crowd in the lobby waiting to be seated when we were leaving.
Everywhere I went this past weekend (mall, restaurants, shops) business was booming. I mean BOOMING. The only place I went where it looked slower than usual was Home Depot. I actually had a couple of sales associates offer to help me.
I wonder how much of this recession we're supposed to be in is media induced. I also wonder how much the fact that we have elected a Marxist (communist?) president is affecting the stock market's nose dive.
Mike wrote: .... Americans need to get out of debt, and save more. Problem is, THE economy, whatever that is, needs us to be perpetually in a state of increasing debt, or it is considered a slow economy. Aren't credit excesses the reason for the financial failings in the first place? But now we hear about the need to free up credit. You can almost hear the plea-"Spend more..spend more..spend more.., THE economy needs you.."
Yeah. .and the problem is that foreign interests hold many of those debts.
"The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." Proverbs 22:7
I fear when those creditors demand payment. Americans need to wise up.
"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."
This, what should be considered sensible behavior in the first place, should be considered good news. After all, we have been told numerous times how Americans need to get out of debt, and save more. Problem is, THE economy, whatever that is, needs us to be perpetually in a state of increasing debt, or it is considered a slow economy. Seems to me if I can get out of debt and save more, it would be good for MY economy. Aren't credit excesses the reason for the financial failings in the first place? But now we hear about the need to free up credit. You can almost hear the plea-"Spend more..spend more..spend more.., THE economy needs you.."
I understand the 4th-quarter Christ-mass shopping season is when retailers make most of their annual income. This may be a good indicator of whether Scott's evidence is more than anecdotal. Also, I've heard that retailers have made good money on consumer credit interest, not just on the spread between retail & wholesale prices. A change in this alone could also spell trouble.
If people are indeed thriftier these days, I do not expect this attitude to survive the recession. Only folks who are frugal on principle (like the ant in Prov. 6:6-8) will not drastically change their spending habits with the times.
Scott McMahan wrote: I hear it, but I don't see it. This is the most cleverly disguised recession ever when I look around at people shopping, etc.
There's an economic rule of thumb that goes something like this: Main Street follows after Wall Street by about 6 months. IOW, most sectors of the economy will feel the harsh effects of the current recession around March. We'll see.
COMMENTS | 
john uk from wales: "
frank
yes, you are correct; i will not be moved :shakehead:..."
