Frugal Living Makes Headlines?
Apparently, living within one's means is so uncommon these days that the New York Times reports a 'cultural shift' moving Americans toward not living like debt is a lifestyle, but like the burdensome financial responsibility that it is. Because of the economic slow down stemming from increasing foreclosures and unemployment, fresh credit is harder to attain, so people are cutting back. That's what the New York Times is reporting.
Is being marginally responsible news now?
What happened to the values that we learned growing up? What happened to saving for a rainy day, not taking more than you needed, exercising restraint? I understand that sometimes people find themselves in a tough spot and often have no choice but to use credit to live, but most of us don't fall into that category. Most of us have financed lifestyles that our paychecks can't justify. Most of us have at some point or another lived as happy contributors to the debt carrying culture we call Western living.
Well, now the chickens have come home to roost. It's time for us to pay up and live like people did before consumer credit became mainstream.
It sounds good to me.
Is being marginally responsible news now?
What happened to the values that we learned growing up? What happened to saving for a rainy day, not taking more than you needed, exercising restraint? I understand that sometimes people find themselves in a tough spot and often have no choice but to use credit to live, but most of us don't fall into that category. Most of us have financed lifestyles that our paychecks can't justify. Most of us have at some point or another lived as happy contributors to the debt carrying culture we call Western living.
Well, now the chickens have come home to roost. It's time for us to pay up and live like people did before consumer credit became mainstream.
It sounds good to me.
Labels: credit, debt, frugal_living, I_C_Jackson
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posted by I.C. Jackson | 2/05/2008 09:48:00 AM
6 Comments:
I wonder if people are learning about the time value of money or just responding to accommodate their own needs.
We have seen this coming as the legislation paved the way for it. It has bee a bi-partisan fleecing of the American public.
It has been in the press (buried in the middle of the finance pages and on C-Span), but never seems to draw as much attention as Heath Martin's death, Paris Hilton's panties or whatever we are told is important at the moment.
The current economic slowdown and financial market credit crunch will shock Americans back to reality, so this period of slow growth is basically therapy and for the American consumer. IMO, a short recession would be an annoying hangover, but it will do much to sober up the middle class.
Do you think it will stop with just an "annoying hangover"? A large part of what is happening is fallout due to 1 million foreclosures this year. Ceteris paribus (including world bank contributions and refinancing), it is projected that we will have 2 million this year.
Do you envision this being more of a hiccup or a the beginnings of a history book entry?
I couldn't agree more. Debt is slavery!
www.crazanity.com
> Do you envision this being
> more of a hiccup or a the
> beginnings of a history
> book entry?
If we get a recession, it will be short and shallow, thanks to aggressive rate cuts by the Fed. The housing market will experience pain for many months, but the rest of the economy is going to take off in short order.
With what I have seen and read; I doubt you are right, but hope you are.
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