Search Results for: blog recession giving birth to more frugals

Are Frugal People More Emotionally Mature?

A famous study on children measured the level of emotional maturity when it came to delayed gratification, and then followed those children throughout their lives. They found that those children who were able to delay gratification wound up being more successful than their peers. The researchers attributed this delayed gratification to a heightened emotional maturity that served them well later in life. The way the test worked was thus: children met a researcher in a room, one at a time. A single marshmallow was placed in front of a child. The child was told that the researcher needed to go … Continue reading →

Recession Giving Birth to More Frugals

With all of the changes in personal economic outlook do to high gas prices, high food prices and high everything-related-to-food-or-fuel prices, the majority of consumers are changing their spending habits and becoming more frugal. According to a news report by AP news, many of those new”frugals” are planning to remain frugal, even if their financial outlook improves. The research company Nielsen Co, tracks consumer habits. It says that about 63 percent of consumers are cutting their spending. In the AP article, former spendthrifts are taking drastic measures to curb shopping, such as applying shoe glue to a peeling sneaker sole, … Continue reading →

What Do You Need?

In these days of economic recession, it’s time for us to take stock and think about what we really need. The other day I saw some T-shirts advertised cheap. When I went in they were sold out but they did have lots of lovely blouses at reduced prices. ‘Why don’t you buy one?’ my husband said when he saw me looking at them. ‘Because I don’t need them.’ I needed a cheap T-shirt to wear to tennis. I didn’t need pretty blouses to wear out, though I have to admit it was tempting. It’s so easy to get caught up … Continue reading →

How the Economy Can Affect Your Marriage

An economy in recession can put a lot of stress on a marriage, and not just from increased worry about paying the bills, although of course money worries can always create some tension. In tough times, personality differences, even differences in gender may make the situation ripe for conflict. Let’s talk about this issue and how we can recognize when the economy is affecting our marriages. In a tough economy there may be stress over where the money is spent. If you have one spouse who is a saver and the other who likes to spend, the difference between the … Continue reading →

The LipStick Effect and Frugal Living

The lipstick effect can be a help or a hinderance to your commitment to frugal living. Find out what the lipstick effect is and how to deal with it. What is the lipstick effect? The term came about because of our most recent world war. At that time, money was very tight, and people could not spend much money on luxury items. This is similar to today’s situation and our difficult economy. Almost everyone is trying to save money and live frugally. An interesting phenomena occurs during times of economic hardship. Specifically during the war years, sales of lipsticks soared. … Continue reading →

Tap Water is Chic

Isn’t it nice to know that the rest of the world is finally catching up to us frugal people? Well, maybe. Of course, I couldn’t help but notice that the dancing cheerleaders at the Summer Olympics all carried plastic bottles of water in a little hip belt as they cheered and welcomed the athletes in to the stadium, during the opening ceremonies last night. Despite those Summer Olympic cheerleaders, the sales of bottled water are on a major decline, as people opt for water from the tap instead. It used to be oh so cool to lug around bottled water. … Continue reading →

Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics Are Frugal

Hosting the Summer Olympics is an enormous feat that takes billions of dollars to orchestrate. Think about all of the things that must be built, from new venues, to housing, to television and media towers, to the medals themselves. But Beijing Olympics officials vowed from the very beginning to keep everything as frugal as possible for this Summer Olympics. The Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG) wanted to make sure that there was a balance of income and expenditure, with maybe even a little profit. How can they do this? One of the big expenses for a … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Week in Review: July 28th Through August 3rd

Do you want to save money? Check out the past week’s articles about frugal living. July 28th Frugal Living Week in Review: July 21st Through July 27th We have a lot of articles on food this week, from saving money on cereal to the best time to grocery shop. Please check them out and let me know if there are any particular topics or knowledge that you would like to read about. Ways to Avoid Fruit Waste Do you want an easy way to reduce your food budget by half? Stop wasting food. Believe or not, the average American household … Continue reading →

The Change in Generic Food May Help You Save

Here is one way that the downturn in the economy may be good for those of us living frugally, although some caution is still advised. Grocery stores are having to come up with new ways to be creative when selling their food, and they are quick to respond to anything that will sell product. One of the results of people tightening their belts is the fact that most shoppers, even ones with higher income, are now buying generic store brands instead of name brand. This applies to food and other household goods, such as laundry detergent. As bread prices move … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Month in Review: July 2008

July went by so quickly for us! There were so many fun and frugal activities and events for us to explore, from a science camp to free movies and sand sculpting. I hope your July was equally fun and frugal. Summer is a busy time, I know. Did you miss any frugal articles last month? If so, here is an opportunity to catch up on what you missed. There are new ways to save money on food, clothing, kids, gas and more. Feel free to leave a comment on any frugal post. I read all of the comments myself, no … Continue reading →