'Thriftiness' and saving money

Q: In the article, Ellen Goodman asks, "Will our 'thriftiness' last only as long as the recession?" What do you think? Is your family still spending as much, or have you slowed down?


A: During the Great Depression, banks went bankrupt, people lost great amounts of money, and the economy was shot into the ground. 30% of our country was left jobless without any opportunity to find a new one quickly. People were left without an income while watching the rest of the world crumble in the same way.

Today, we have some of the same failures and events as those that happened during the Great Depression. Many recessions are occurring, people are losing their jobs, and you can find every citizen in America saving money and trying to cut down on what they spend. As the recession continues, people will continue to save what they have because people are continuing to lose jobs and money. Everyone you meet is counting what they have, searching for the bargain deals, even cutting down for this Christmas season with friends and family just because of the terrible economy we are forced to live in for now. We have even seen gas prices plummet after the highest price around about $4.50, depending on where you live, down to about $1.30 locally. So, yes, i believe that 'our thriftiness' will continue as long as this recession continues.

My family is cutting down somewhat. When my mom goes to the grocery store, she tries to wait until we have about no food in the pantry to go to the store and comes back with tons of food to completely fill the room. Trips up to Redding are the same. She tries to combine all her errands into a one, all day thing in order to keep from going up there more then once a week. We have made small changes, but nothing too extreme that keeps us from our day to day activities.