Perhaps because I majored in something that required me to have more than passing knowledge about Thorstein Veblen’s The Theory of the Leisure Class
, but I read the NYTimes article on people scaling back and it only makes me angry.
To many, the adjustment feels less like a temporary, emergency response than a permanent recalibration, one they view in terms of ethics rather than expediency.
“It’s kind of like we all went overboard,” said Ms. Taylor, 33. “And we’re trying to get back to where we should have been.”
Not everyone thinks the new restraint will last. Ms. Riley, 37, who lives in Atlanta, said she doubted it would extend beyond the recession.
“I do think that maybe now it’s a little bit chic or something to save money, or to be pinching pennies,” she said.
Perhaps because I was a nerd at a private high school, a certifiable geek on the Physics team, and a scholarship student I really never put that much into outward displays of wealth. I would never, ever win. Not with people whose parents were debutantes, senior partners in law firms, etc. Thankfully the culture of the school was not into conspicuous consumption and I was spared. (Not like my older sibling at suburban public school. Perhaps because my school was in the ghetto and theirs was not. My sibling was much more interested in outward appearances than I was.)
It’s terrible to think that these people are only doing this temporarily rather than realizing that cutting back and living frugally is a permanent way of life for most people. It’s not a trendy lifestyle choice to end when the next wave of lifestyle trends comes around.
meh.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t think anyone could accuse me of conspicuous consumption generally, but I’m definitely guilty of conspicuous nerdery.
I am not impressed with those people either. Did you read the part where one lady said it is ‘chic’ to cut back and save now? It is just fad for them….not a lifestyle adjustment.
I guess saving is a hip new thing to try right now and then the fun part of it will fade as more people start doing it.
The great irony there is that real wealth is generated by NOT spending conspicuously.
Funny, our school situations were reversed but my older sibling is much more interested in outward appearances.
If this recession doesn’t last more than another year or so, I don’t imagine that the frugality mentality will take for those who are *that* involved in conspicuous consumption. They’re just too firmly attached to spending and trends.
I’m not sure if this frugality kick will “stick”, but the children of the Great Depression were certainly affected, so I imagine people of all levels now will be affected as well. However, a partner at a law firm might cut back on his fractional ownership of a ski resort in Aspen, while a teacher might start clipping coupons much more frequently. They’ve both made dramatic changes in the lifestyle that they used to have, just the magnitude is different.
I, too, am not impressed. Chasing trends is just like chasing after the wind – it’s meaningless! And it costs a lot of money too.
Frugality won’t stick unless men in wrinkled suits start selling apples for quarters (not nickels, like in the Depression – inflation has to be factored in) by the interstate. I think many people will go right back to crazy spending as soon as they are able.