Sustainability Spending with Frugality Rules
Okay. So, the shopping spree may be
over. It’s hard to pick up a newspaper or listen to a TV station that doesn’t have a story about it. Meanwhile, advertisers keep putting things on sale to get us spending again. However, millions of Americans are waking up with a debt-hangover and have adopted a new mantra: living within our means. For the sustainability of our planet, let’s hope it lasts.
Whether its because of the recession, high energy prices, an awareness of the trash building up in our landfills or oceans, or because we’re without a job or forced to go on regular “furcations” (furlow based, unpaid vacations) — the equivalent of a pay demotion — many Americans are adopting a Fruglity is Freedom lifestyle that remarkably similar to a sustainable lifestyle. It’s beginning to change what we value and how we place value on values.
Here’s a few of the Frugality Rules:
• Paying off credit debt and possibly cutting up credit cards (after paying them off)
Once upon a time, most Americans never had credit cards — even one. Those who did, had a fixed interest rate. But a lot has changed, with plastic being the method of preference for millions of Americans, most of whom have more than one credit card. All the cards these days have variable rates and all sorts of fees, too. So, when the Fed comes around to raise interest rates to head off inflation, get ready to pay more for what you bought on credit.
