I was talking with my fifteen year old brother last night, and my favorite Dr. Seuss quote came up: "Say what you mean and mean what you say, because those who mind, don't matter, and those who matter, don't mind."
I've been thinking recently about how this applies to living a frugal life in a decidedly non-frugal culture. There's definitely the incredulous looks when you bust out the $40 worth of coupons at the grocery or the slightly skeptical "Really?" when you show off the latest yard-sale find. And I think that people are extra-skeptical of frugal families where both parents work. It's accepted, to a degree, that families with a SAHP generally need to be frugal...they've made the one-income lifestyle choice, so people expect that frugality comes along out of necessity. But with two working parents, the attitude is often, "But you don't NEED to!"
Don't we? I wonder at the consumerist attitude that says we should buy things just because we can. Not saying I don't understand it, being a reformed spendthrift, but I do wonder at it. Given the infiltration of the mass media into every aspect of our lives, it's not surprising that it's so prevalent, but it really doesn't serve any of us on an individual level. The "stimulus" checks highlighted how far frugality has slipped from our national mindset: 'Quick! American economic growth is predicated on people buying crap, so let's give them more money to buy more crap so they can make more money to buy more crap!'
Even if having two careers might give us the financial option to not live frugally (and I don't think that's so for a lot of two income families, given the national savings rate), I just can't make myself okay with the other sacrifices I'd have to make. Every dollar of crap I bring into my home represents time spent earning that dollar, time I could spend with my son, in my garden, hanging out with my husband. No thanks. My house has enough crap anyways.
