8.23.2011

Should We All Be More Frugal ?


Recently I have been thinking more and more about the instability of our lifestyles and the way that we are set up as a modern society to live.

If you tune in to television or magazine advertising they will have you believe that everything is wonderful. It has never been better! 'Live for today', you hear them say....'go ahead, your deserve it'.......'you only live once'....... Pay tomorrow.... interest free...

I look around and see a very different story. I see people wondering why 'everyone else' seems to have it so easy when they are doing it tough. I see people who just completely block their financial circumstances and live from credit card to credit card and keep refinancing their blues away.


I have really started to sit up and take notice because I see more and more people whose lives have been turned around by such a simple event that pulls the rug out from underneath them.

I have seen friends go through a separation and divorce, the death of a spouse who was way too young, a job loss for the only income earner in the family, serious illness which turns a family upside down and people wiped out through once in 150 year floods.

We all subconsciously believe that it will 'never happen to us', but I am sure people who have been through a change like this have thought exactly that.



Do you think it is prudent to tighten our belts in the name of securing a solid emergency fund ? How many of us could truly survive for six months if our current income source dried up ? If your income stopped tomorrow, how prepared would you feel ?

As you know, I am always using 'times gone by' as a reference point when it comes to being frugal, living green or living more simply. Perhaps because of the instability of the times, people from older generations always put money from good times away for times when they may not be as good. They stood by the traditional wisdom of saving for a rainy day.

Are our times today any more stable today than what they were back then ? Does easy credit disguise society's true position ? I am not sure, I can only judge it by what I see, hear and read around the community and in the blogosphere.

Why suspicion is.....yes.

2 comments:

Cheryl said...

I'm glad to see you blogging again. Life still goes on even after loss, but sometimes it's just so damm hard to jump back in, thanks for dipping your toe back in the water. And in response to your blog post I feel like screaming to the world to halt this ridiculous love affair with consumerism. Of course we need to be more frugal! It's not just about saving for a rainy day, it's about the environment, and pride and happiness and a host of other things. But these times, "they are a changing", slowly but surely, the message is filtering through.

Libby said...

Very thought provoking post. We would definitely struggle for survive for 6 months if we had no income. However, DH has own business in the computer industry so it's not too much of a concern. He is very qualified and I'm confident he'd very easily find work (in Sydney if necessary). It might not be fun but we'd manage. I'm also an only child so know my parents would help out if needed. We were really bad about using credit when we first got married but now the credit card is paid of in full each month. I use a mainly cash budget to help stop overspending, but I know I should be more frugal.

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