Time Mag's Person of The Week: The american Consumer

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Country Families : One Thread

Melissa, this should make you happy- Time Magazine's Person of The Week is The American Consumer, being lauded for spending in the face of economic disaster, or something.

I must confess that I am not helping much. I recently put myself on a budget of $50/week for groceries/household expenses/sundries. Today I spent $1 on a Sunday paper, but am hard-pressed to find anything else that I "need" to buy this week. I only buy groceries on sale now, and there isn't anything on sale this week that I need more of. I am so stocked up on non-perishables that I don't need any, and I bought enough fresh stuff last week to hold me until I go out of town later this week. Gas just went up to $1.44/gallon in my neighborhood, but I am driving so little that I haven't bought any gas for the last 3 weeks and still have 1/4 tank left, so I don't need gas either. Of course, if I keep riding my bike everywhere I might need some new tires one day- guess I'll put the leftover $49 in savings till then.

Don't think I am one of the consumers that Time is referring to, lol.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), March 31, 2002

Answers

I told you all that you didn't need to worry! There are plenty of people out there spending!

I did go off the "Spend Nothing Campaign" after Day 8. I bought maroon thread, strawberries, 2 switch covers and somethng else that escapes me at the moment! I have enjoyed the extra time of not shopping, and I am going to "try" to keep my spending at a minimum for non-essential items.

So my time starts again on Saturday... for the next round. Since I am new to this (I am used to shopping once a week...) I am sure I will get better at it.

I remember now, it was horse feed. Completely forgot it when I was stocking up and only had enough for 1 week.

-- Melissa in SE Ohio (me@home.net), March 31, 2002.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ