Being Frugal: The Original Sustainability? – Chris Farrell
Posted By admin on August 4, 2010
Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2010/01/21/Chris_Farrell_The_New_Frugality
“Frugality is the opposite of being a cheapskate,” says Chris Farrell, author of The New Frugality. Farrell asserts that conscientious spending is actually linked to a sustainable, green lifestyle.
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According to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, The Great Recession may technically be over. But what’s clear is that, no matter what the GDP may be, people are hurting financially. In The New Frugality, Chris Farrell, personal finance expert for American Public Media’s “Marketplace Money” and contributing economics editor for BusinessWeek, presents a new paradigm for surviving the greatest economic crisis in a generation.
The embrace of what Farrell calls the New Frugality signals that half a century of people spending with abandon and borrowing as much as possible is done. Profligacy is out. Frugality is in. Also, The Great Recession comes at a time of another great crisis related to our over consumption: global climate change. This convergence of crises creates opportunities and new ways to be frugal. In everyday money decisions, it turns out that being frugal and being green are synonymous.
Farrell suggests we should focus not only on what’s affordable in the short term, but also on what’s sustainable in the long term. If you’re thinking about getting rid of your car and buying a bike to save money, there’s no reason you should buy a two-wheeled clunker from Craigslist that needs a trip to the bike shop every other day.
As Farrell demonstrates, there’s a difference between being frugal and being cheap. We’ll still need places to live (do we buy or rent?), to save for college, and every now and then go into a little debt. How we make these choices will be as important as the choices themselves.
The New Frugality offers smart, sustainable, and ultimately more fulfilling ways to approach our personal finances and get more out of spending less. – Berkeley Arts and Letters
Duration : 0:5:34
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@marsCubed I get …
@marsCubed I get that. My mother always says something close to that, “I work too hard for my money to by cheap things”. What she means by that is purchase or make (she was a steamstress) quality things, so that you don’t have to keep buying or making them over and over again.
@MiranUT Agreed. I …
@MiranUT Agreed. I think part of that has to do with compassion. I’ve had mostly women and gay managers, and I’ve found that when “minority” leaders are good, they are really good.
Umm…maybe they …
Umm…maybe they just don’t like your wiener.
Central park and a truck rest stop. I have no money.
@Causa10bserver
…
@Causa10bserver
Agreed!!
Sustainability: the …
Sustainability: the new absolution. Don’t forget to buy your indulgences, err, I mean carbon credits.
@ MiranUT
I think …
@ MiranUT
I think it is because men have these huge egos and most carry their brains in their pants. They have a “winner takes all” mentality which is very unfortunate…
Women are used to being humble and negotiate to find win/win situations.
You wish.
Google:
…
You wish.
Google:
The fewer female managers a company has, the greater drop in its share price since January 2008. (Ceram Business School, 2009)
and
New studies find that female managers outshine their male counterparts in almost every measure (Business Week, 2000)
ya, right. The …
ya, right. The businesses run by women comment is just some sexist thing you pulled out of your ass.
Ha! I definitely do …
Ha! I definitely do not want diamonds. I’m satisfied that my husband loves and appreciates me and I don’t need presents for him to show me that. And I love my very small, cozy condo. I’ve never owned a car and I hate shopping.
Interestingly, businesses run by women tended to fair better during the meltdown b/c they don’t take the risks (like borrowing money) that male managers do.
@Andy.. That is …
@Andy.. That is really an unfair statement and you know it. In my family it’s the men who have been the big spenders.. new cars every year, gotta have all the latest electronics, etc. I learned about being frugal from my grandmother. My experience is NOT unique. How dare you, really.
There is a Polish …
There is a Polish saying which I rather like.
To get a bargain you need to spend a bit more money.
In fact, your …
In fact, your ideology, which has allowed the selfish wealthy to destroy our social fabric in the last 30 years, has destroyed the tax base universities depended on to keep tuition down. But whatever, its cool, grants from the government or something.
@freesk8 Kim Smith …
@freesk8 Kim Smith “The Suprising Causes of Those Tuition Hikes” 1. The main reason is reductions in per-student subsidies from states 2. Increased spending has been driven mostly by non-classroom activities like counseling and administration 3. Private universities, backed up by tuition and grant increases from the wealthy, have spent more and public universities can’t match them. Its real easy to explain everything with an ideology. Its much harder to be right.
@Andybaby that’s …
@Andybaby that’s funny, reminds of dave chappelle saying “a man would a woman in a box if he could”
Frugal means if you …
Frugal means if you buy something, but something you won’t need to replace in 2 years. And don’t pay a lot of interest for it…
No, it’s a result …
No, it’s a result of tuition loans and grants from the govt.
The real reason to …
The real reason to be frugal is so that you can earn less, so you send less to the IRS, so you have less of your money seized in order to bomb and kill people in the Middle East. It means you have to feel less guilty about all the bad things the federal govt does with your money. It means less of your money goes to corporate bailouts and prosecuting the drug war.
Time for Atlas to Shrug. Frugality is the way to do that. The more you earn, the more responsible you are for funding govt evil.
Who wants the …
Who wants the diamonds, the presents, the big houses, the cars, and the mall?
Women.
Men will be frugal when frugal men get laid.
be frugal just not …
be frugal just not a miser.
lol frugal is a …
lol frugal is a polite word for cheapskate.
actually its not. i like to be frugal.
College tuition …
College tuition rising isn’t about sustainability.
Mortgage? Loose …
Mortgage? Loose parallel!