Free Republic

Frightened by tough economic times, formerly spendthrift Americans are beginning to save. But the shift is causing alarm among some economists and commentators. Prudent savers, say these writers, are exemplars of the "paradox of thrift," which holds that the practice of thrift, while seemingly wise and rational for the individual, can be harmful for society. So it is that a Wall Street Journal headline warned: "Hard-Hit Families Finally Start Saving, Aggravating Nation's Economic Woes." A story in the New York Times said the "re-emergence of thrift as a value" presents a serious problem: "Economists call it the Paradox of Thrift."...

‘New’ US shopper to emerge from crisis By Jonathan Birchall in New York Published: April 8 2009 19:58 | Last updated: April 8 2009 19:58 As the recession dramatic­ally alters where and how Americans spend their money, there is an emerging consensus on the likely profile of the “new” US consumer who will emerge on the other side of the crisis. A Citigroup report, for example, argues that US consumers are shifting towards “conscientious consumption”, embracing a “thriftiness” focused on value and quality, not quantity. Euro RSCG, the global advertising group, says a recent survey of 500 people in the...

...Plan out a week's worth of dinners before going to the store. Check the supermarket fliers and base your menu on what is on sale. By doing a week's worth of shopping in one trip, you really will save money and time. Raise your hand if you have ever gone into the store for "a few items" and come out with $79.43 in stuff you didn't think you needed. Uh huh, we thought so. Store Brands are just as good as name brands (most of the time). Our pantries are full of delicacies like Juicy Magic, Woven Wheats and Magic...

With the recession in full swing, many Americans are returning to their roots -- literally -- cultivating vegetables in their backyards to squeeze every penny out of their food budget. Industry surveys show double-digit growth in the number of home gardeners this year and mail-order companies report such a tremendous demand that some have run out of seeds for basic vegetables such as onions, tomatoes and peppers. "People's home grocery budget got absolutely shredded and now we've seen just this dramatic increase in the demand for our vegetable seeds.

Home Economics of Anxious Times: Dyeing Your Hair in the Kitchen Sink By Ylan Q. Mui Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, February 26, 2009; A01 The economic downturn is forcing America's households to learn a tough lesson: how to fend for themselves. Sales of starter sewing kits have shot up by 30 percent at Wal-Mart as families forgo the tailor. Landscaping companies have suffered a 7 percent drop in revenue over the past year. Procter & Gamble said that it has noticed more questions from customers about how to dye their hair at home to match salon coloring. The recession...

The struggling economy has brought more dollars to dollar stores. As other companies head into the red, these national chains say they're seeing increased amounts of green.Shopper Sebrina Slade hasn't just changed product brands."We've never done the shopping here like we do now," Slade said.She's swapped stores. "I used to have a negative connotation about shopping at thrifty places, but that's a thing of the past," Slade said.Because of the current recession, Slade heads to the South Knoxville Family Dollar store at least once a month to try and save, just in case."I know FedEx has had some layoffs so...

Thrift is the “miracle cure” for the economic ills of our society, according to David Blankenhorn, author of a new book about the misunderstood word. “Thrift: A Cyclopedia,” is a collection of historical quotes and images — many of which pay homage to a word that today is narrowly defined by Americans to mean “to be cheap” or “to save.” Many misguided consumers think of thrift in a negative light. To them, thrift reminds them of secondhand stores you shop at if you are poor and unfashionable. Being thrifty is being tight with money like your Uncle Al who lived...

Even JWT, the largest ad agency in the world, is now saying we are ready for simple pleasures, modest living, an honest cup o' Joe and other thrifty, frugal ways already familiar to many conservatives and heartland Americans.

Even the Pope, therapists and Wal-Mart are now endorsing an anti-consumer lifestyle that our wise grannies knew of long ago: thrift, frugality, humble style makes for a merrier life, and a closer family. Wear out those shoes with pride.

Dutch insurer Aegon said it may buy a small U.S. thrift company to qualify for potentially more than $1 billion in U.S. government support, sending its shares down more than 8 percent. "This is part of our strategy to ensure Aegon has the strongest capital position possible," said Aegon spokesman Greg Tucker. "If Aegon is eligible, we would seek the minimum range of funding possible." The range was 1 to 3 percent of its $125 billion in U.S. assets, he said, and the application was for the so-called Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) which the U.S. government has used to...

Food is expensive, gas remains stubbornly high and winter's big heating bills are coming. Since loans are tough to get and our retirement funds are shrinking fast as the stock market crashes, we thought we'd share some old-fashioned penny-pinching tips. Some come from readers who responded to a business reporter's request for suggestions. Others come from the misers on our staff. And a few come from rules our mothers taught us or hints we've read over the years. Of course, one person's "don't need that" is another's "can't live without" (we didn't suggest cutting out the $4 latte). If some...

On paper, my wife and I are poor. How poor? In 2005 we made $4,303.84 combined; in 2004 we made half that. We’re in such a low tax bracket that I have trouble convincing the government of our tax return’s accuracy; they simply can’t believe Americans can live on that kind of money. Yet in many ways, we’re better off than a Wall Street banker: We’ve saved enough money to buy land without a mortgage, we have no credit cards or monthly bills, I work 20 flexible hours a week from home, and my daughter has two stay-at-home parents. Simply...

As the implications of this election have sunk in and the future has, in so many ways, become so uncertain,many have suggested ways to fight back. One, an initial reaction to the confiscatory tax policies of the new regime, was to scale back where possible.Rush Limbaugh even mentioned that he was selling a long held and cherished condo in New York in response to their impending tax hikes. But there has been no organized approach to this "tightening of our conservative belts". I propose a new freep, call it "Operation Thrift".Operation Thrift will have several goals, first and foremost is...

The people who created this country built a moral structure around money. The Puritan legacy inhibited luxury and self-indulgence. Benjamin Franklin spread a practical gospel that emphasized hard work, temperance and frugality. Millions of parents, preachers, newspaper editors and teachers expounded the message. The result was quite remarkable. The United States has been an affluent nation since its founding. But the country was, by and large, not corrupted by wealth. For centuries, it remained industrious, ambitious and frugal. Over the past 30 years, much of that has been shredded. The social norms and institutions that encouraged frugality and spending what...

Spending spree over as Americans walk without safety net By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Last Updated: 11:59pm GMT 06/02/2007 Americans are drawing down their personal savings at the fastest rate since the depths of the Great Depression, suggesting that US household finances may be more fragile than they look. The savings rate fell to minus 1pc in 2006 and has now been negative for 21 consecutive months, according to Commerce Department data. Such a rate was last seen in 1933, when a quarter of the American workforce was unemployed and whole families were kept alive by charitable soup kitchens. There is no...

WASHINGTON, March 20, 2006 – Participants, as well as some non-participants, in the Thrift Savings Plan are targets of a "phishing" scam, an official with the board administering the program said today. Tom Trabucco, director of external affairs for the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, said phishing is an "attempt to get recipients of the unsolicited e-mail to compromise themselves by giving up their personal financial information." Thrift Savings Plan administrators would never request personal or financial information via e-mail, Trabucco said. "Do not respond to unsolicited e-mail, and never give out information of a personal nature (through) unsolicited e-mails,"...

For the first time in our history, we are regularly spending more than we make. People are not just saving less of their income, they are spending their savings. This disastrous, hedonistic proclivity was ordained by liberal/Progressivism. Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930s began the process of killing traditional moral values. Among the victims was the idea of saving for a rainy day, the virtue of thrift, Ben Franklin’s “a penny saved is a penny earned.” Young people since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth had been raised with the admonition to spend only after working hard and saving more...

Thrift Savings Plan makes saving, investing easier Journalist Seaman David Beyea, USS Kitty Hawk public affairs Posted 11/4/2002 ---------------------------------------------------- ABOARD USS KITTY HAWK AT SEA -- Senior Chief Torpedoman’s Mate (SW/AW) Ron Wood, from Sylacauga, Ala., informs Sailors about the benefits of the Thrift Savings Plan. (U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Justin Proulx) ABOARD USS KITTY HAWK AT SEA -- Saving for retirement has become easier for Sailors on board USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) with the Thrift Savings Plan. According to the summary of the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) for the uniformed services, compiled by the...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Rocky Oldaker bought a wood box for $2 at a thrift store because it looked interesting. When he opened it, what he found inside was priceless to Linda Bigford: her mother's ashes. "I don't think that is what someone's life should boil down to ... $2 at a thrift store," said Oldaker, who bought the box along with a stuffed animal and a picture frame. When he unscrewed the box bottom at home, Oldaker discovered a plastic bag of ashes and a note identifying them as those of June Peltier of Marion, Mich. Peltier, 77, died...