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It’s now hip NOT to spend money
By Anita |
At least according to this USA Today article:
Most consumers actually feel more pain from these small cuts than from big ones. You miss your daily java jolt a lot more than, say, a new car you’d only hoped to buy sometime this year.
Small cuts can also have a big effect on the economy. If cutting back becomes a cultural mind-set, it can be very hard to turn around.
“The new status isn’t how much you’ve got, but your ability to show what you don’t spend,” says futurist Watts Wacker, who advises businesses on trends.
“This is a seminal moment. It’s not a fad that will die out when the economy picks up.”
Trends guru Faith Popcorn puts it this way: “It’s cooler not to spend.”
I hope this trend continues.
Has the economy motivated you to cut back?
Topics: Thrift |
March 7th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Well, I think this trend was a long time coming. Most of us would’ve cut back on spending ages ago if credit cards weren’t so easily accessible, in my opinion.
A large part of the problem is that we are encouraged to spend because ours is a consumption economy. I’m not sure what other kind of economy there is (I’m not an economist)–but it seems shaky to me for a national economy to be solely dependent on consumer buying.
I don’t want us to go back to the Great Depression or anything (although admittedly I romanticize it– having not lived through it)–but it sure would be nice if there was a widespread movement for more simple living.
March 10th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I agree with Suzanne. If only the rest of America would agree and change their spending habbits.
Going back to the Great Depression is exactly what will happen, if people don’t start getting smarter and curb their spending voluntarily. This overspending will only result in financial ruin for millions of Americans. Only those who don’t overspend (those who save) will be able weather such a crash.