New Culture of Spending...

If you are like us and most of our friends, you've done just about all the "trimming" to your budget that you can without giving up the "necessities." Now, I know that "necessities" can be a subjective term based on your priorities. In our household, we have not had cable for almost one year now. In March of 2009 while whittling down our personal budget, we rid ourselves of cable AND television. It was only until my grandmother passed away in July that we ended up with a television, courtesy of my aunts and uncles. Fast forward to today and still no cable and the digital rabbit ears are double-time, trying to grab that elusive digital signal out of the sky, which can sometimes be tricky in strong winds, rain, snow, sleet, too much sunshine, etc. :)

Speaking of priorities, when we tell folks we don't have cable, you might as well have told them that we only use leaves as toilet paper. "Unheard of! Are you crazy!?", they ask. Well, I believe that these "crazy" cuts, regardless of your priorities are all a part of the new culture of spending.

Money has been relatively easy over the past decade or so and while I am certainly not an economist, easy money has been true, for most folks. If you weren't making it, you could borrow it, if you couldn't borrow out right, you could leverage "equity" and get your hands on some. At times, it felt as if everyone was walking around in "a rich man's world." Advertisements catered to high-end, super-vacations, homes had tons of square footage and were "macked" out, giving rise to the term "McMansion", where "normal" homes were being torn down and replaced with mini-castles. For a while you would hear how much someone "spent" on an item, not what a "great deal" you might have gotten. Having name brand or the best and most of everything was the sign of the time.

As far as businesses go, my husband and I were new small business owners at the time, we said "no" very rarely when a new marketing idea was presented or a charity asked for money. We had a business plan but because money flowed, it was easy to veer away under the excuse that we needed to "branch out" or "try something new". Now, still business owners, our business plan is rarely "tweaked" during the year, except when we see a way to save and everything is tracked religiously to see the ROI. I have made it a personal business goal to focus on zero-based marketing by teaming up with other "trusted advisers" and pooling our resources and ideas to create the best experience for our clients.

So, for me and many others out there, it's back to the basics. Quality, hometown-feeling service, taking time to chat over coffee instead of lavishing gifts, quaint gatherings in lieu of big, impersonal, corporate parties, purchasing "homes" instead of "flips", fuel-efficient rather than monster-like, trusted advisers over "sales" and yes, maybe even cold beer and a home-grilled steak occasionally over cable t.v.
Like I said, it's all about priorities...