To Spend or Not to Spend, That is the Question

Since 9/11, we've been counseled that spending money is taking back our lifestyle from terrorism, but now things have changed. People are more mindful of spending money, both in how to spend it and if to spend.

Because I had started cutting back before 9/11, I wasn't sucked back into spending mode; not that I'd have had any money to spend, what with all the consumer debt and student loans I had at the time. Thrift hasn't been a consideration in this country in years. We can learn a lot from Japan, which, not too long ago, lost a decade due to financial implosion.

I doubt we'll have the same problem; people here just don't seem to learn. Right now, despite all the information out there on credit cards, people don't pay close attention to the terms of their account. Meaning that they're more likely to lose track of their interest rate, balance, due date, adherence to payment schedule and spending. Never good things to lose track of.

It's so easy to get sucked back in. Yesterday I received my credit card bill, and opened it, despite knowing I haven't used it since making my most recent payment; as a born-again transactor, I need to pay the bill in full, no matter how tempting it is to pay only a portion of it. I was happy to see a zero balance and find, under payment due, the word NONE.

While I still spend money, sometimes frivolously, I try to be more careful about how I spend and my method of payment; so far it has worked well for me. I'm also more aware of due dates for my bills than I have been at times in the past; late payments on credit cards do not bode well for interest rates. As we're so accustomed to spending, I believe that cutbacks in doing so will only last as long as the recession; once people are working again and the economy isn't as bad, spending will once again seem normal.

Every month during which I a) pay off my credit card balance, if any, in its entirety, and b) make payments on my student loans, is a month which reduces my debt.

Technology

While I'm not the first one on the block to acquire new technology, I'm well aware that people trade up for something new in seemingly ridiculously short amounts of time. One of my friends is always getting a new something; she has a good job, can afford to buy new toys and has plenty of people to whom to hand things down.

That was the trend for everyone for the last several years. Now it seems that people are waiting or buying fewer new items. Credit isn't readily available, nor are jobs, so people are being more conservative in spending, at least partly out of necessity.

Despite my colleague, whose husband gets a new cellphone all the time, the cellphone industry's numbers are going down right now. I know a few people who don't have a cellphone, but not too many anymore. There must be more people like me out there; my phone is three years old and I keep talking myself out of getting a new one. It's great to have something new, but I see no reason to take action when my current phone is good. My backup phone is also just fine.

Since cellphone manufacturers send their wares worldwide, it only makes sense that a worldwide downturn in the economy would have an affect on their sales. Existing markets are saturated with people who are off the consumer bandwagon for one reason or another; emerging markets aren't emergingi as quickly as it seemed either. As for me, I just don't want to incur one more bit of recurring debt.

Thrift as a Way of Life

For those like me, whose grandparents lived through the Depression, stories of deprivation and thrift were part of our upbringing. As if the Depression wasn't enough, the economy was then fueled by war, which begat The War Effort, rationing and deprivation for another reason; helping the boys at war.

During the Depression, people just plain didn't have money and couldn't buy things. Not that there was the wide array of consumer goods that we have, I mean people put newspaper in the bottom of their shoes because they could neither afford new shoes nor repair the old shoes. Soup Kitchens and bread lines proliferated, feeding many who had no other source of sustenance.

With the tumbling stock market, credit crunch and daily announcements of layoffs, we'll be lucky not to need assistance from tax deductible charity organizations. In my area, there are several downtown agencies that assist; the House of Charity which provides a noon meal to anyone who shows up at the appropriate time, no questions asked, Sharing and Caring Hands and Dorothy Day. There are food shelves associated with Dorothy Day, as well as with many other organizations. In addition, a church near my home provides free food once a month. Many years ago, my grandma was in a USDA program for those with low incomes; they came to her building and handed out butter, cheese and honey.

I'm not suggesting that contract attorneys are in a position to need these services; however, at one point in my life I worked on a temporary project with a woman who had lived for a time at the Dorothy Day center when she first moved here. Her church subsequently assisted her in finding a roommate situation.

Because of the rampant spending the formerly credit-worthy countries of the world have engaged in, it's entirely possible that we might know someone who could benefit from a reminder that these sorts of services are out there. When I was in law school, someone told me to apply for government benefits, such as food stamps; while I was poor, I chose not to take advantage of the programs because it was my choice to go to school. It seemed silly as a single person to do so, though one of my college classmates used food stamps; she had a child, so under her circumstances it would have been foolish not to do so.

I'm fortunate in not being in a situation in which I need services, but due to the masses of debt that people have, I also believe that it's important not to be too proud to take services if you need them. Especially if you have a family.

Trying Not To Spend

I'm trying to read my stockpile of fiction before buying more. I have a wooden crate full of books I have yet to read, along with stashes of a few books here and there. While most of my recently purchased books are from thrift stores, so I don't have a huge investment, I'm still trying to be conservative about spending. And I have a limited amount of space so need to read and re-donate the collection of books currently on hand.



I'm still attempting to lessen my supplies of bath products, but never seem to have any fewer containers; while I did use the remainder of one bottle of lotion, I found two partial tubes that I had taken to a project at one time or another. Problem is, they were short projects and I lost track of the lotion so was unable to use it up. Now they're with the rest of my stash, waiting their turns to be used. The good thing about having excess of products is that I don't need to worry about running out of much of anything between projects.



A sale at Target was a bad influence; I broke down and bought a giant box of the trash bags I prefer. While I thought I was close to the end of one of the two remaining rolls of the kinds I would rather not use, I found the remainder of yet another roll, but it appears to consist only of three or four more bags. Because they're crappy, cheap ones, I double-bag but it still seems to have no effect on the number of bags remaining in my possession! Even though I used one roll in its entirety, there are more! I'm trying to wait until I use those up, despite the new box of the ones I like.



I did plan ahead for some family events; I now have a huge stash of cake and cookie decorating sprinkles, along with a bunch of icing, donated by a friend who was moving out of the area. I baked cupcakes for the going away party, using one huge can of frosting, along with a bunch of colored sugar. Part of the other giant can of icing and more colored sugar will go on top of cupcakes for a family reunion. I also bought pop on sale for an out-of-town sister coming for the reunion. Her brand was on sale so I bought a bunch. I stocked up on water and iced tea for the reunion. I didn't know what beverages would be provided and I might as well have what I want! I drink a lot of water in hot weather so best to bring some. It's only a three hour drive from where I live so not a problem to bring extra stuff.