Frugality Re-discovered

We're not consuming conspicuously anymore, I've heard. The Chicago Tribune has a whole entire article about this latest trend.

Some of us aren't trend chasers so we missed out on the spending craze. Not that we could afford it when it was the thing to do, of course. Even if we could, there was all that Catholic guilt getting in the way.

From buying African babies to dropping pennies in the St. Vincent box, life was all about giving to others so we could get into heaven. If you had more than your neighbor, you'd not want to shame them by showing off your own prosperity, so things were kept quiet. No flash, no glitz. Stuff the mattress and keep a low profile.

With the new mania for frugality comes a new way to boast of one's accomplishments. Instead of flashing a shiny Rolex watch, the doyennes of cheap flash a stack of coupons and brag of the money they're saving.

Those of us who are accustomed to making do and getting by don't rely on coupons, because they're often for products that we don't use. Low price dog food? Who can afford a dog? Ten cents off the luxury brand of bleach? The generic brand is half the price and bleach is bleach.

All this talk of saving money in the shops, but the latest generation of savers is missing out on a little secret that's known to a select few. Instead of buying things, it's possible to make it at home.

A second hand sewing machine, a bit of fabric and what-not, and a lady can have a new outfit for next to nothing. Not someone's discarded fashion from last year, either, but the latest style. The same goes for the kid's wardrobe, and add in a ball of yarn with some needles and Junior can be warm all winter.

Cultivate friends who own nail guns, power tools and the like, and you could remodel your basement on the cheap. All by doing it yourself.

Funny thing, though. Those who came from money, the old money crowd, aren't much for showing off what they have. It was the nouveau riche who fueled the booming consumer economy, thinking that they were imitating the high society crowd. Now they're the nouveau poore, and they're trumpeting their attempts to copy the low society crowd. Once again, they're close, but not quite there.