Cheap Offs Vs Change
I love a good cheap off! Competing to see who can save the most money- I bought a scarf for 50 cents! I bring tea in a thermos to work! I don't have a TV!- can be an exciting and fun high. The problem comes in when we start thinking that cheap offs can actually solve problems for others. Thinking our credit card debt problems can be cured by taking tea in a thermos or that poverty would be wiped out if only folks didn't smoke cigarettes. In these economic times when people are charging groceries on credit, talking about tea in thermoses as if the debts were caused by Starbucks misses the point completely. Not to mention the many other debts people incur- car break downs, medical debts, and the high cost of educational testing nowadays[folks are trying to charge me $300 to take a test!] So when we ignore all those issues, and focus on whether people should smoke a cig or drink starbucks, we're getting off point.
But you may say, my cousin Niecey goes out and smokes all the time and is always asking for money for diapers! There's a saying in legal circles- hard cases make for bad law. Your cousin Niecey may in fact be an idiot. But have idiots ever improved through lectures? When we're focusing on those few unrepentant cases[ or even worse, focusing on a fifth hand story about someone you don't know] we could be focusing on real ways to make a change in people's situations.
Being a cheap bastard is a lifestyle choice and is a lot of fun, but let's not kid ourselves. If you're 10k in student loan debt, not going to starbucks isn't going to make your situation that much better. If your rent is $1000 a month, cutting out that $25 a month cable not going to make a huge dent.
I think we talk like this because it's reassuring. In these tough times, it's nice to think you'll be protected from financial disaster merely by taking your lunch to work. We don't want to think that virtuous people like us could have bumps in the road. It's also nice to think that people who aren't virtuous like us will be punished. Sadly, the world doesn't work that way and the faster we realize that, the faster things will get better for all of us.
I love a good cheap off! Competing to see who can save the most money- I bought a scarf for 50 cents! I bring tea in a thermos to work! I don't have a TV!- can be an exciting and fun high. The problem comes in when we start thinking that cheap offs can actually solve problems for others. Thinking our credit card debt problems can be cured by taking tea in a thermos or that poverty would be wiped out if only folks didn't smoke cigarettes. In these economic times when people are charging groceries on credit, talking about tea in thermoses as if the debts were caused by Starbucks misses the point completely. Not to mention the many other debts people incur- car break downs, medical debts, and the high cost of educational testing nowadays[folks are trying to charge me $300 to take a test!] So when we ignore all those issues, and focus on whether people should smoke a cig or drink starbucks, we're getting off point.
But you may say, my cousin Niecey goes out and smokes all the time and is always asking for money for diapers! There's a saying in legal circles- hard cases make for bad law. Your cousin Niecey may in fact be an idiot. But have idiots ever improved through lectures? When we're focusing on those few unrepentant cases[ or even worse, focusing on a fifth hand story about someone you don't know] we could be focusing on real ways to make a change in people's situations.
Being a cheap bastard is a lifestyle choice and is a lot of fun, but let's not kid ourselves. If you're 10k in student loan debt, not going to starbucks isn't going to make your situation that much better. If your rent is $1000 a month, cutting out that $25 a month cable not going to make a huge dent.
I think we talk like this because it's reassuring. In these tough times, it's nice to think you'll be protected from financial disaster merely by taking your lunch to work. We don't want to think that virtuous people like us could have bumps in the road. It's also nice to think that people who aren't virtuous like us will be punished. Sadly, the world doesn't work that way and the faster we realize that, the faster things will get better for all of us.
