Comments on: Is frugality unAmerican?

By: Funny is one year old! | Funny about Money

Funny is one year old! | Funny about Money — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:57:19 +0000

[...] say which were my favorite posts. Single in a Couples Culture got a lot of good feedback. So did Is Frugality un-American? I think Consumer Headaches: 15 Ways to Get Help was one of the site’s most useful posts. [...]

By: This is What Frugal Looks Like: Funny About Money | frugility.com

This is What Frugal Looks Like: Funny About Money | frugility.com — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:01:44 +0000

[...] Is Frugality Un-American? [...]

By: Where’s “Is Frugality Un-American”? : Funny about Money

Where’s “Is Frugality Un-American”? : Funny about Money — Fri, 08 May 2009 00:55:47 +0000

[...] spelled the title a little strangely, which probably complicated efforts to find it: “Is frugality unAmerican?” It’s still there, and it did come over to the new server. Share and [...]

By: 180th Carnival of Personal Finance

180th Carnival of Personal Finance — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:10:57 +0000

[...] from Funny about Money asks “Is frugality unAmerican?” Yes, that’s what drives our economy, consumer spending. I am not sure if we know how [...]

By: Aya @ Thrive

Aya @ Thrive — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:12:58 +0000

I agree with you too, people were spending too much before and now, it’s balancing out to how spending should be like. I also wonder if everything is factored in when they calculate how bad the economy is because no one is shopping. I don’t feel bad for the giant companies like Circuit City going bankrupt as much I do for the small local stores that are suffering; those stores always have rare items that can’t be found elsewhere and when they’re gone…they’re gone forever! In any case, its ridiculous to feel bad about not spending money when everyone ends up in a bad place when we do spend.

By: Saver Queen

Saver Queen — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:32:42 +0000

I completely agree. Since when does spending money you don’t have contribute to a healthy economy? The bubble’s gotta burst sometime. It’s just one more myth we’re fed, right along with “you need to buy this to be happy” to make sure we all keep coughing up our money and dishing out high interest rates.

By: copyeditorsdesk

copyeditorsdesk — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:28:17 +0000

Exactly! A less yeasty economy but one based on the realities of consumer’s income and credible buying power would not have overheated. We wouldn’t have gone through a seeming “boom” period, but on the other hand, we wouldn’t be facing a collapse now, either.

Governments mint money. That’s where money comes from, now that currencies in developed countries are disconnected from gold or silver. In theory, the more people, the more money printed to sustain them. Right? At least until governments run out of paper and ink….

By: !wanda

!wanda — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:08:46 +0000

The economy’s problem isn’t that people aren’t spending. It’s that they were spending like crazy before and aren’t spending now. Before, people were buying consumer goods like crazy on cheap credit, and so factories were built and salespeople and office cleaners were employed. But current demand is much lower, so some of those factories and employees are superfluous. People are being laid off, are afraid of being laid off, or are being paid less, lowering demand for consumer goods and continuing the spiral. You’re right that if all along the consumer demand had been lower and the “right” number of factories were built and employees hired, we wouldn’t be in a downward spiral now. The economy would never have reached its previous highs, but most people prefer predictability over volatility, especially when the lows are really threatening.

Incidentally, I don’t understand how there is enough money in the world to employ everyone at a sustainable wage. More people == more supply of potential employees == lower wages.

By: frugalscholar

frugalscholar — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:42:12 +0000

Great, as always. It seems a lot of the blame for a continued downturn is placed on people’s cutting back on spending. As a long-time frugal person, I am proud to say that I am NOT cutting back; my spending is about the same.

My treats for the coming year will consist of the following: for husband, a new $$$ bicycle; for me, a tooth implant (ugh); for children (maybe) 5 week sessions at a French immersion program in Nova Scotia. All told about $11,000 or so. That should give the economy a shot in the arm!

By: RoomFarm

RoomFarm — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:31:49 +0000

Yes! I’m with you. Great article. Yup — all you consumers should go into debt and save the US economy….as if. Thanks for the great post.