My husband and I like to play the “Lottery/Rich Uncle Game” that starts out, What would you do if you won/inherited/found _____ dollars? (Warning: for entertainment only, not investment purposes). You’ve played some version of it, right? We dream up vacations we will never take and house projects we will never start and checks we will never write and gifts we will never give.
Then we wonder about the practical stuff: Would I still clip coupons? Would my husband quit his job? Would I still clothe my children from clearance racks? Would my husband still be obsessed with lowering our energy bill?
Last Friday’s Oregonian featured an article by Laura Gunderson that reminded me of this game (follow the link below to read the entire article). She was exploring whether frugal practices, picked up during this recession, will actually stick once the economy rebounds. Maybe your husband lost his job or your house lost its value; maybe you had to stop getting manicures or mochas. As a result, you learned how to sew or change your car’s oil or clip coupons or bake bread. When your income rises, will these frugal habits drop? This economy has impacted all of us in different ways, and we have all responded with different degrees of frugality. Are those new skills a true lifestyle change or a temporary necessity?
Check out these articles for more interesting observations on the topic:
Recession weary shoppers say they’ll stay frugal, NW researchers say don’t bet on it by Laura Gunderson:
Shoppers, Paschel said, simply have tried a few behaviors through this recession that helped alleviate anxiety. They’ve cut coupons, scoured weekly ads and visited discount stores. Such tactics may trim parts of a consumer’s budget, but didn’t always portray deep-seated spending changes.
That’s especially true for consumers who weren’t directly affected by the recession, say by furlough days or pay cuts. Sacrifices aren’t fun and retail experts say those who tried frugal for appearances’ sake will be the first to dump their thrifty ways. Indeed, high-end purse purveyor Coach Inc. announced this week its second-quarter net income had risen by 26 percent… And while consumer confidence remains sluggish, analysts say there’s a widening gap between what consumers say they’ll spend and what they actually buy. One just needs to refer back to the bustling holiday shopping season, which hit sales levels retailers hadn’t seen since 2006.
Will the Great Recession change long term spending habits? by Don Cayo:
I have no doubt from watching my parents’ generation, which lived through the Great Depression of the 1930s, that their habits were shaped for life by the experience. Even though incomes improved steadily following the Second World War, frugality was ingrained in everything from the way the conscientiously consumed leftovers to how they planned even fairly minor purchases that my generation tends to buy on impulse.
But today’s consumers have grown up with short memories and in a free-spending ethos where easy credit and instant gratification rule the day. An economic shock like the one the world has just gone through can certainly serve as a tap on the brakes. But I don’t personally expect to see much more than the equivalent of slowing down for a curve.
People practicing spending habits honed in recession by The Associated Press:
… many changes in spending habits that most Americans first saw as temporary have taken hold, perhaps for good, some economists say. This is the reality of the new American consumer — focused, cautious and tactical.
These behavioral shifts aren’t at the extremes of the Great Depression, which produced changes so drastic that many who lived through it adopted frugality as a lifelong habit. Still, some experts say the changes from the recession of 2007, 2008 and 2009 could last.
“This was a massive cultural event for our society,” says John Gerzema, a branding executive at marketing and advertising firm Young & Rubicam and co-author of a new book about the changing ways we spend money. “Eighty percent of Americans were born after World War II, so essentially this is our Depression.”
Pollsters and experts have different opinions on the topic, but they raise an interesting question that’s worth asking. Are we truly commited to be content, spend wisely, give generously, and leave a legacy or… are these just temporary tools to help us survive a tough time?
Opinions? Observations? Leave a comment!
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Never!
I never want to give up my way of saving money!
I have 5 little girls (oldest just turned 5). I heart swelled with pride when I watch my daughters make ‘Coupons’ instead of money to play store with, and know never to pay full price!
12 Months ago life (financially) changed – and it changed fast. Sometimes I want the ease of the former life, and not stressing out at the grocery store at how I am going to pay for this food if my coupons didn’t work. But I never want to change this frugal lifestyle/mindset, and I never want to be that person who pays full price for something that the lady behind me in line is getting for free!
I want to pass on to my girls the value of saving money – and waiting (not instant gratification) to buy something you ‘want’. What an important life lesson that can be applies to all areas of life – that only starts in the financial.
Funny. I also wrote a response to that Oregonian article on The Non-Consumer Advocate:
http://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/2011/01/does-frugality-have-the-longevity-of-shoulder-pads-and-leg-warmers/
I’m a dyed in the wool frugal type, and my income level has never changed me. My husband and I made more money than ever in 2010, yet there I was at Safeway last night, coupons in hand, gleeful to see that I “saved” 54% off my grocery bill.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
I love this! This is how I was raised and I believe are excellent values to pass on-which I am!
I can’t forget how I came into the recession. My parents lived in Europe during WWII. They are very frugal in the true sense of the word, not at all stingy by any standard. It seems their values have always been with me. At age six I asked my mom for a game at a drugstore. When she said, “no, not this time,” I said “Come one, I’m sure you have a coupon for it… And look! It’s even on sale!” I personally know of no other way.
Truly, I think the advent of blogging has done more to affect my frugal strategies. But that’s a whole other topic!
Great post!
The question I have is how to pass these values on to my child? I would like to hear other’s ideas also. I talk to my child often about financial choices, but the truth is most Americans live in extreme debt-it’s the “american way” . Actually even those who have plenty tend to live in debt also. I know of a book (forget the title) that says even most lawyers/doctors are only one paycheck away from bankruptcy because they are way overextended. I always say-you can always outspend what you have-doesn’t matter how much you make (look at the lives of most movie stars)-it has to do with being content about what you have, and most Americans aren’t because there is this idea that you “have” to have certain things-and you deserve them-AND with credit-most people get them. At our elementary school-most of the families live in the poverty range, but many of the children dress in way nicer brands than my child does-they may need food boxes for the weekend-but they look nice carrying it home!
I have really enjoyed these couponing websites, because finally I can relate to the values expressed there-thank-you, I appreciate it!
What has really changed in the last two years that would make us give up our Frugal Ways?
Healthcare? I don’t know about you, but my Healthcare costs have doubled. Employment? Has this gone down in the state of Oregon? Last time I looked it was well above 10%. Higher taxes? We might have a two year reprieve thanks to the Republicans, but that’s it. I can’t see how middle class families have any choice but to be frugal if they want to get ahead and plan for the future. The mainstream media makes it sound like the Great Recession is something from the past. Have any of us really seen an improvement in our standard of living lately? Thanks Oregonian newspaper for your usual substandard reporting!
My husband and I have been following Dave Ramsey since 2007 and were living frugally before I even started couponing. I can NOT imagine, even if I had the money, paying some of the atrocious prices that grocery stores are charging. Now that I know what is possible, I just don’t think I could do it. I may not coupon as much and might give ourselves a little more leeway on “fun” foods that we can’t always squeeze into our budget, but this is more than just a passing trend for us, this is a lifestyle.
I hope to pass on to my children the example that the only way to live comfortably is to live out of debt and live within your means. I feel like couponing has made us so much more intentional about all of our purchases, not just grocery items. We have been living for so long with no credit cards that it is just not an option for us to buy something that we can’t afford, even if we REALLY want it. This lifestyle has truly been a blessing for our family and I can’t imagine drastically changing anything, even if we could. Although we might go to Vegas a few more times a year.. 🙂
Great topic, you’re really making me think these last couple of weeks. 🙂
I believe many people will go back to their old ways. Couponing does take work and time (how much depends on you), alot of people would rather be doing other things.
As for our family, I hope and pray I can remain in this frugal life style and pass it on to my children. I am a stay at home mom who plans to homeschool our children. That being said, we live on my husbands income and will pay for every cent of our kids curiculuim. Since we plan on having a very large family by todays standards the more frugal we can be the better.
I feel like finding this site and other ones like it was a true answer to pray for our family. God bless.
I think that there is a big difference between living now and living in the age of the great depression. Despite supposed credit cutbacks, there still is a massive amount of free-flowing, easily accessible credit.
For many people, being frugal was trendy, but then they tired of it.
For those of us who grew up with financial challenges, being frugal has been a way of life for longer than being middle class has. As Joyce, the couponer who was featured on “Extreme Couponing” on TLC said, “If you’ve never used a coupon, you ain’t never been poor enough.”
I suppose if I were to win the lottery that I wouldn’t coupon much. I would be too busy traveling around the US doing all the things that I always wanted to. As far as continuing my frugal ways after the “recession” is over, I’m sure I will. Why? Heck, I was raised that way. When it comes to HAVING money, my father told me (and I have repeated to my children) you can either make more or SPEND LESS. BC (Before Couponing) I always prided myself on finding the best sales. Now I am constantly stocking up on items at cut rate prices so I can increase my stock pile. I think being frugal is a great value to pass on to future generations. I was ecstatic yesterday when my oldest daughter called to say that she purchased $100 worth of baby formula at Target for $1.17! In closing, why spend hard earned money that I could be saving for later on things that I can get for pennies on the dollar?
I think that some people will retain their frugal ways, but many will not. It is so ingrained in our society to spend (often beyond our means), that many people will return to that when they have the money to do so. I think that most of the people that will remain frugal are those people that we either raised that way, or had been living that way for a long time pre-recession… not necessarily those that had to cut back because of the recession.
I started living frugally when I was in college and my husband and I were barely scraping by. Now our household income is over six figures and I coupon now more than ever. 🙂 It’s all about the person’s mentality.
Funny you should mention this. I read a book a number of years ago called The Millionaire Next Door: Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy and it talked about how of the many millionaires living in our society, many of them still live in suburbia, they still drive their regular sedans, their wives still clip coupons, and essentially they still do the same things that got them that million dollars in the bank. They didn’t achieve their goal and then bang! change their lifestyle and blow it all. It was a very interesting book, and I think my husband and I fall closer into that category than the celebrity category. While it would be fun to imagine blowing a wad and staying on a private island for a week, I don’t see it really happening. When it comes right down to it, our priorities are such that we have better uses for that money, both charitable, and future savings.
That’s a great book. The reason their lifestyles didn’t change is because it took many of them decades to acheive their financial goals.
There’s some follow up books to the original. One of them (can’t remember the name) talks about the children of these self-made millionaires. Unfortunately, the children and grandchildren generally blow through the money pretty quickly, because they didn’t have to make the sacrifices to earn it.