The “cool to be frugal” concept
When I think about being frugal, there are some childhood memories that are probably pretty common to most Americans. These are the memories of our mothers or fathers explaining to us that if we wanted something, we needed to “save up” for it. This lessen is not a simple one any more as the world seems filled with addicts who need a fix.
Think of all the advertising we have been exposed to in our lives that takes this childhood lessen into account. How many commercials or ads have you been exposed to that indicated that, if you buy their product, you would “save” a bunch of money? The idea that one saves money in a purchase of needless items is backwards to say the least. Put that ridiculous concept aside for moment and examine the idea of simply making a purchase of an item you actually need.
Look at the eHow steps to saving: http://www.ehow.com/how_2808_save-money-major.html
It is shocking, but some people need to read those steps and determine whether or not they understand what is being offered as good advice. Step 6 doesn’t exist any longer.
Parental convention tells us to save money by putting away money as it becomes available (via our paper route or our monthly allowance). As we get older, the paper route develops into income from a job. Our relative increased wealth and affluence exposes us to more opportunities and creates new needs and new wants. Amongst the many responsibilities of adult life a grey area between need and want is created by answering this question, “What do I need to be happy?” We don’t even know what we need any more?!?! Mom and Dad tried to help with this one when I was a kid, but lately, Moms and Dads are not setting a good example and have ballooned this grey of wants versus needs.
Worse yet, we have adopted speed in our lives and think it is mandatory and all encompassing. Many can speculate on this topic and its relation to the internet, the TV and new technology. No one can argue that there certainly is sentiment in the world that do things faster and must have things sooner. I simply want to point out how our perception of the speed of modern life makes us foolishly believe that we need to enjoy now, not tomorrow. Forgetting that the miracle of enjoying the journey of life, we have made an excuse for ourselves to foolishly purchase now what we could have later responsibly. There seems no reason to wait to enjoy something you can have right now. Mom and Dad are not amused.
So…save money on the new home entertainment system the commercial says? Wrong. You don’t save because you don’t need it. You don’t save because you didn’t save up to buy it. You lose because you put yourself in debt and pay additional money for the right to borrow someone else’s money for something you didn’t need. There is no saving in the equation, only losing.
Mom and Dad weren’t perfect. My parents taught me about the importance of my credit rating. I was advised to pay my bills on time, establish credit, keep a zero balance, etc… What they failed to tell me is that maintaining a good credit rating was only important if I understood what we should use credit for. I figured it by watching others. I can’t stop thinking about the FreeCreditReport.com people when trying to understand our strange reliance on the world of personal credit development. Their commercials infer that if one had only paid attention to their credit rating, they would not need to work at the fish place or drive a crappy car. Really? Isn’t this story being told to us in reverse? Shouldn’t we work at the fish place, apply for a loan to buy a car, and then finally, after paying off our first loan, actually have a reasonable credit score to check on? People that don’t work at the fish place probably have a higher paying job and should have put money away with which to make purchases. The people that don’t work at the fish place probably did at one time in their lives, so to speak. These people think that their credit score is important, but certainly not life changing….
I wish Mom and Dad would put together a couple of commercials to show the folks out there how to save again. I wish people would be willing to work a normal job and lvie within their means. The economy’s dependence on extraordinary consumer spending is moot if the consumers are upside down. People need to get back to the basics for a while. People need to walk to work at the fish place and put their time in again. People need to learn to save again.
