There has been a lot of talk lately about frugal fatigue and how Americans are so fed up with being frugal and are ready to spend. Do you believe it?
There is no doubt that the housing market and the economy has seriously affected family lives for the worse. Small businesses have been closing left and right, families were losing their homes, and many people found themselves unemployed. I don’t want to devalue the impact of all of that. But, underneath the rubble of it all, there have been some positive changes.
For example, people are less willing to take on the debt they once laughed off. We are more savvy about not being convinced that we can afford what we really can not afford. People are putting less emphasis on keeping up with the Jones and more emphasis on simplicity.
A recent survey by Billshrink.com found that more credit card holders are actually paying off their balances each month: a whopping sixty-seven percent! Last year, the majority of us were happy to keep balances on those cards.
After the great depression, it took decades for families to give up their frugal mindsets, so I think that some practices such as the push to pay off debt quickly will stick, at least for a while. They may have been scared straight or have realized the peace of mind of living within or under their means.
At the same time, I think those folks who adopted frugality not out of necessity but because it was expected, may be more likely to revert back to old habits of spending. Luxury goods were still purchased during the worse of the economy, although they may not have been flaunted as often. If frugal is no longer cool then why do it, right? There may be some other trend coming down the road any minute.
What do you think?