Is A Frugal America Here To Stay?

I have to admit it; money used to burn a hole in my pocket. The more money I had in my wallet, the more likely I was to buy something I didn’t need or spend more money on something than I should have. Most of the time I would spend the money on smaller stuff like a DVD, a book, or an extra main dish at the Chinese take-out place. Sometimes it was on a bigger ticket item such as a high end snow blower even when a lower end model would easily do the job, or $300 of beer brewing equipment because I wanted to try making beer. It did not matter that I was paying for the items with a credit card because the money in my wallet made me feel richer. It is not that I was rich; I just had a relatively secure job and money in my pocket.

Recently, I seem to have overcome my excessive spending habits. I still go to the bank and take out the same amount of money, but the urge to spend just is not there. It has gotten so bad, that it affected my normal spending habits. My family has put off purchases that we probably would have already made.

To make matters worse, my new found frugal buying behavior is constantly being reinforced by the world around me. There are so many articles about people cutting back. Almost daily there is another poll or article about changes in buying habits and driving habits. Many news reports and articles, like the Retail Forward report titled, Women Limit Spending on Apparel; Shopping Behavior Likely To Endure, state with certainty that the buying habit changes are here to stay. I hope that in some cases they are correct, but I am not sure I totally agree. If I am an example of a typical consumer then I expect things to return to approximately what they were once the economy returns to “normal”.

A woman I work with is in the process of getting her house aluminum sided. One of the larger contractors in the area gave her a great deal. The homeowner is going to be spending about $4000 less then what she was quoted two years ago. It turns out that many contractors are forgoing most of their profit just so they can keep their crew busy. I almost wish that I had to replace my aluminum siding, I just know that in a couple of years when my siding really does need to be replaced the costs will be back to “normal”.

Since I am lucky enough to have a secure job, I wonder if I am doing the right thing by holding off on some purchases. Am I being frugal or is it that I am just creating more pent up demand? Would I be better off buying that new entry door or that new dining room table now? Maybe I will wake up tomorrow morning and realize that I will never get a better price on that dining room table and I will buy it. Hopefully I will not be alone in my realization.