On Socioeconomics and Tightwaddery
Reinder has been blogging about finances and personal economics off and on for some time, and since his blog didn't have comment features for some time, I never really piped in. Instead, I would give him my little soapboxes via IRC or yahoo messenger and we would almost always be "preachin' to the choir".
His recent post about "why do people buy crap" got quite the little rant out of me-- not because I'm ranting at Reinder, but because I'm disappointed with the websites he linked. They are marketed to a specific kind of internet market. They dont address the issue as to why people do it, they only kiss up to the savy internet consumer who A- has the time to read it and/or B-apparently makes enough money to have the time to read it.
They also make people who are poor and can only afford cheap goods sound stupid. Yes, they ARE stupid, but they're stupid because they're uneducated and no one wants to take the time to help them out. The last economics class they got was in highschool. Poor people generally don't get a great education in money management from thier parents and family, nor do they have the time and energy after working 8 hours at Walmart's check out aisle to run to the library and pick up some books on personal finance.
The general attitude of these websites sickens me. The Consumerist article about "why buy cheap crap" assumes that you're not poor. Why do we buy a cheap coat that wont last years? Because the 100% wool one costs more than our grocery bill. Excuse me.. food comes first.
Not to mention.. why should I spend 198.00 on a coat that will only stay in fashion for five years or less. Sorry.. but my cost-per-use is WAY less on a cheap coat I'll actually enjoy wearing a few years then throwing away, then on a coat that will last me till I'm 80 and remind everyone I'm stuck in the 2010's. I WONT wear it. It will sit in the closet and I'll stare at it saying "I can't throw that away.. I spent sooooo much money on it.... Goddamn it's ugly though". Some things in life are DISPOSABLE. Just accept that. That's what fashion magazines are all about. Disposable fashions that will be trendy for a season and then you move on to something new.
back to the point--- They aren't addressing why people buy cheap stuff. They dont address accessablity or lack of income. They don't address how ordering a high quality good online tacks on another 12.00 in shipping. (excuse me? most poor people can't afford intarwebs.. let alone pay shipping). They dont address education and knowledge about brands. Guess what folks.. some people have never SEEN a Heinkle knife. They don't know the difference between a Viking range and a Maytag one. They just aren't higher brand concious. These websites just make it sound like you're a lazy ass if you dont go out and find that fantastic deal on kitchen knives.
Looking at today's fresh articles: Sales Tax Holidays. Great idea if you're shopping for brand name clothes at regular retailers. Where's the real tightwad info though?? Stores aren't stupid. Sales Tax Holidays you still have to be careful. You save 8% tax here in Tennessee, but only on clothing, paper supplies/school supplies and computers (or at least, computers were on the list last year for all those college students out there needing laptops). You still save more money going to thrift stores and purchasing used jeans which are NEVER taxed (they were taxed the first time they were sold, so used items cannot be taxed twice). Stores are going to stick it to you through pirate marketing on other times that are increased to make up for thier losses. You go in and buy that 1.00 box of crayons for junior, but you also pick up a coke for 1.25. Guess who really looses here? Not them.
Don't forget--you still save 50% on paper if you purchase it right before Halloween sales start. Stores want rid of all those school supplies for the Halloween stock. Kmart often puts it on 75% off. 75% off just doesn't compare to 8% off. Tax on 25% is still better than fullprice minus 8% tax. Buy several packs.. be prepared for next year.
For really cheap items, go to a "Dollar General" store or other "dollar store" for things like paper, crayons and pencils. They do the sales tax weekends just like all the other stores. Paper is paper. Pencils are pencils.. and the teacher don't care if the paper cost you 75 cents a pack or 1.50.
Aggie
His recent post about "why do people buy crap" got quite the little rant out of me-- not because I'm ranting at Reinder, but because I'm disappointed with the websites he linked. They are marketed to a specific kind of internet market. They dont address the issue as to why people do it, they only kiss up to the savy internet consumer who A- has the time to read it and/or B-apparently makes enough money to have the time to read it.
They also make people who are poor and can only afford cheap goods sound stupid. Yes, they ARE stupid, but they're stupid because they're uneducated and no one wants to take the time to help them out. The last economics class they got was in highschool. Poor people generally don't get a great education in money management from thier parents and family, nor do they have the time and energy after working 8 hours at Walmart's check out aisle to run to the library and pick up some books on personal finance.
The general attitude of these websites sickens me. The Consumerist article about "why buy cheap crap" assumes that you're not poor. Why do we buy a cheap coat that wont last years? Because the 100% wool one costs more than our grocery bill. Excuse me.. food comes first.
Not to mention.. why should I spend 198.00 on a coat that will only stay in fashion for five years or less. Sorry.. but my cost-per-use is WAY less on a cheap coat I'll actually enjoy wearing a few years then throwing away, then on a coat that will last me till I'm 80 and remind everyone I'm stuck in the 2010's. I WONT wear it. It will sit in the closet and I'll stare at it saying "I can't throw that away.. I spent sooooo much money on it.... Goddamn it's ugly though". Some things in life are DISPOSABLE. Just accept that. That's what fashion magazines are all about. Disposable fashions that will be trendy for a season and then you move on to something new.
back to the point--- They aren't addressing why people buy cheap stuff. They dont address accessablity or lack of income. They don't address how ordering a high quality good online tacks on another 12.00 in shipping. (excuse me? most poor people can't afford intarwebs.. let alone pay shipping). They dont address education and knowledge about brands. Guess what folks.. some people have never SEEN a Heinkle knife. They don't know the difference between a Viking range and a Maytag one. They just aren't higher brand concious. These websites just make it sound like you're a lazy ass if you dont go out and find that fantastic deal on kitchen knives.
Looking at today's fresh articles: Sales Tax Holidays. Great idea if you're shopping for brand name clothes at regular retailers. Where's the real tightwad info though?? Stores aren't stupid. Sales Tax Holidays you still have to be careful. You save 8% tax here in Tennessee, but only on clothing, paper supplies/school supplies and computers (or at least, computers were on the list last year for all those college students out there needing laptops). You still save more money going to thrift stores and purchasing used jeans which are NEVER taxed (they were taxed the first time they were sold, so used items cannot be taxed twice). Stores are going to stick it to you through pirate marketing on other times that are increased to make up for thier losses. You go in and buy that 1.00 box of crayons for junior, but you also pick up a coke for 1.25. Guess who really looses here? Not them.
Don't forget--you still save 50% on paper if you purchase it right before Halloween sales start. Stores want rid of all those school supplies for the Halloween stock. Kmart often puts it on 75% off. 75% off just doesn't compare to 8% off. Tax on 25% is still better than fullprice minus 8% tax. Buy several packs.. be prepared for next year.
For really cheap items, go to a "Dollar General" store or other "dollar store" for things like paper, crayons and pencils. They do the sales tax weekends just like all the other stores. Paper is paper. Pencils are pencils.. and the teacher don't care if the paper cost you 75 cents a pack or 1.50.
Aggie
Labels: finances, poverty, socioeconomics, tightwad
posted by Aggie Janicot at
1:39 PM
1 Comments:
I saw at our local Goodwill that they had a pallet of notebooks for $0.10 each. Seriously, hit there before you hit the mall or the big box places. Also hit the subburbs stores if there isn't one nearby. Prices drop the further away you get from a metro area.
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