Is anyone else stimulating the economy?

[sheridan15926]

We just spent $430,000 on a new home.

But honestly, while we can afford to "spend" (decent savings, retirement plan, our credit cards are paid off every month), we feel the need to "tighten down the hatches". We don't go out to eat very often...but that's probably as much do to lack of quality of food/service as it is wanting to save money. It does seem like restaurant prices have gone up a lot lately.

We are a single income family (although it is a very comfortable single income). But, over the last 8-10 years, an odd thing has happened. The more $$$ my husband makes, the cheaper I get. When I was young/single/financially struggling, I loved to shop. Now, we buy as much as possible from thrift stores (I'm lucky to have a teen DD who is as frugal as I am, and doesn't mind thrift store clothes as long as they are brand name), and we avoid the mall at all costs. I still can't figure out why/how that happened, but as Martha would say, "It's a good thing".

[Saving in So Cal]

We haven't increased spending just to do so, but have definitely had several infrequent expenses hit at once. For instance, our recently car needed new brakes and new tires. Nonetheless, we used a brake mechanic we trust with a proven track record of not taking advantage of us and we shopped around for good tires that would last as long as we expect to own the car. To me, being frugal is just as much about spending wisely as it is about saving money.

[disneysteve]

I just ordered 3 tickets for a show in NYC for this weekend. Does that count for stimulating the economy? Add in gas, tolls, parking, food, etc. We're doing our share. How patriotic of us.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

DS what show are you seeing?

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

DS what show are you seeing?

An off-Broadway production of Dear Edwina. None of us are familiar with the show but DD will be in a production of it in theatre camp this summer so we thought we'd take her up to see it.

[kork13]

Saw this as an interesting twist on what we're talking about here... "The Guilted Age: Spending to Keep Others Afloat".

Melanie Ulle and her husband are scrimping these days, and she feels guilty about the exotic foods -- the hummus, the naan, the chai -- that she stocks in her already-full kitchen each week.

Truth is, though, she'd feel worse if she stopped buying them.

Ms. Ulle likes the couple who runs the small ethnic market by her Denver home; she likes their kids, who play by the register after school. She sees how empty their shop is now. She's heard they've both taken second jobs. So, despite her own pinched budget, Ms. Ulle feels compelled to help them out. Each week, she faithfully runs up a bill close to $50.

"It's the guilt economy," Ms. Ulle says.

And it's helping keep families afloat.

Ms. Ulle's spending is borne of the empathy that comes with knowing when you trim your budget, you're hurting others who may be much closer to the brink.

[Coleroo]

My family and I always talk about how it doesn't "look" like the economy is bad in our area when we're out... we still see just as many people running into frivolous stores buying things that they probably could do without...people with huge buggy fulls of stuff at Walmart...people crammed into Starbucks...local shopping malls / plazas packed to the hilt.

As for the original question... I just stimulated our local Bi-Lo Grocery store this past week, and our food spending has almost doubled in the past 4 months (by choice).