Among all of the stories out there about the recession, there seems to be a large portion of articles about how to save money with all of the rising prices. This is understandable, of course,. People who never even thought about living frugally are now finding that they must curb their spending or at least shop smarter in order to get by.
For some of these new recession bargain hunters, being frugal will be just a fad and something to be abandoned once the economy gets better. For others, it is the opportunity to learn about frugal living and then embrace the lifestyle permanently.
One interesting topic that came up the other day was the impact of the recession on frugal living, not in terms of rising prices but in terms of having to compete against more bargain shoppers. I could sense the resentment by the “old frugals” for the “new frugals.” The “old frugals” somehow felt that all of these new recession bargain hunters would be eating into their territory, so to speak. While I can understand this panic, I’m of the opinion that no one has an exclusive right to any bargains that might be available. Still, here is what I have noticed:
It is harder to stockpile on bargains. Now when I get to the store, the bargains are already off of the shelf.
There are less bargains at the yard sales I have visited.
Stores are making more of an effort to lure frugal customers by having plenty of buy one get one free sales.
There is less stock available at the good thrift stores. Curiously, there seems to be an abundance of donations at our local Goodwill, but the local store never seems to have that same stuff on the floor. Is it moving the stuff to other stores or selling it in bulk elsewhere?
Do you think the recession bargain hunters are making it harder to be frugal?
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. Starting June 1st, don’t miss her articles in the Baby Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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