I know that I have always been proud of my frugal ways, and never understood why people were not more cautious of how they spent their time and money. I still wear my frugality proudly, but it is time for us to spend some of the money that we are afraid to spend.
Now let’s be clear. Given the current situation of the economy it should be obvious that overspending or living above our means is just plain stupid. But in order to begin the revival of the economy we must start spending. It should not be up to the government to bail us all out or save the economy single handedly. We all have to be a part of the solution.
I live in a small (and I mean small) rural community. Their idea of a bargain is “FREE”. Now getting something for free is not a bad thing, but there is a fine line to follow on that one. Let’s take for instance the FreeCycle community. It is a forum where people in your city offer free items to other freecyclers instead of just throwing it away. Items range from swim toys to upright freezors and anything else you can think of. This is a super idea to save us from filling up landfills, but people in my area have turned FreeCycle into Santa’s year round wish list. People are asking for new cell phones, cars, car parts, video games and everything else. Freecycle is now being abused by those people who would rather receive than give. I do not think you should ever ask for someone just to give you something for nothing. So, do you see the mentality of the area in which I live. I truly do not fit in and neither does my consignment shoppe.
I am in the midst of a “Spend Local” campaign for the local merchants. I am beginning to feel it is a waste of time. No one seems to understand that in order for people to keep their jobs there must be a demand for the company they are working for. In order for there to be a demand, consumers must be spending. But it is difficult for people to spend when they are in fear of loosing their income.
So I would personally like to thank those greedy individuals who managed to set us in a downward spiral. Now everyone has fell into a panic and trying to swing to frugality overnight. It just doesn’t work that way.
So, try spending frugaly and spend it local. Don’t expect life to be a hand out.
Spending locally is a good thing to aim for. Here is my example. I had to buy a new vacuum cleaner. Rather than buying a Dyson at a box store, I bought a Miele at a local vacuum store that was on sale. It did not cost me much more, but it can be fixed locally instead of having to be shipped thousands of kilometers should anything go wrong. I can help a small family-owned business and have piece of mind while being frugal.
Thank you for your comments. You made a very good point. You can be frugal and shop local. A lot of people feel that they can only find good prices at a big box store, but it is because they are “assuming” the little shops will be higher. I personally want to thank you for helping support a small family owned business.
I soooo agree with you about shopping locally. As a personal example, last summer my sister and I went berry picking at a u-pick blueberry farm and corn farm. The money went to local farmers, we had a good time and saved money!
Sorry to hear about freecycle and what its turned into where you are….so far we have a great bunch using it where I am.
Id like to add a link on my site to your blog and I invite you to view my blog, sounds like you and I have some of the same views and interests about life.
jessiedog.wordpress.com