What things do you consider to be necessities in your life these days? For me, Cable TV is a want. A flat screen TV is also a want. Ice cream maker? Tough call this summer. But what I found interesting is that according to the Pew Research Center, things that we use to view as a necessity three years ago are now changing. Here are some of the biggest changes:
~ Cable or Satellite TV – 23% of Americans now consider this a necessity. Down big time from 55% in 2006.
~ Flat Screen TV – Now only 8% of folks think a cool TV in the living room is a necessity. Down 25% from 3 years ago.
~ Air Conditioning - 3 years ago 70% of people considered A/C a necessity. Now only 50% of Americans consider cool air in your home a necessity. This one depends on where you live. In my neck of the woods, I would consider A/C a necessity as a 105 degree day is a common occurrence in July and August.
~ Microwave Oven – Used to be 70% of people thought the nuker was a necessity, now only 44% think that. Not sure I understand this one. Microwave ovens are pretty darn cheap these days. Maybe it has to do with the fattening of our society as people have less leftovers to heat up the next day.
But what I found the most interesting had to do with services people are getting rid of. Americans are starting to do things for themselves and are shopping smarter. Yay! Here are a few of the biggest changes:
~ Discount Stores – No sense paying more for name brands if you don’t have to. Almost 66% of Americans are now shopping at discount stores. Up 20% from 3 years ago. Walmart, for example, is absolutely thriving during this recession.
~ Veggie Garden – Now 1 in 5 are growing a veggie garden. Up significantly from years past. The cool thing about this one is you only need a few square feet in the backyard to grow some tomatoes or other veggies. Plus it is a lot of fun and a great activity to do with your kids.
~ Luxury Services – Americans are starting to mow their own lawns, take care of their own pools, and are changing the oil in their automobiles. Smart. Smart. Smart. Very easy ways to save money. Plus, you will get some exercise in the process.
How has the great recession changed the way you spend money? Looking forward to your response. Now in keeping with tradition, here are some of my best money saving online coupons.
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Kyle of Rather-be-Shopping is a regular contributor to Being Frugal.net. If you need more online coupons and codes, be sure to check out Rather-be-Shopping.com.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I guess I’m still old fashioned enough to believe that if Great Grandma didn’t have it, then it’s NOT a necessity :)
I don’t even believe that electricity is a necessity – obviously one can live without it – but it sure is nice to have :) It’s a convenience I enjoy! But that still doesn’t make it a necessity :)
Good point, Marci! When you consider our ancestors or even those in third world countries today, we really are spoiled here.
I’m surprised, actually, about the TV/cable. I’d previously heard people who couldn’t afford to go out as often (or as BIG) would justify having 57 channels and a drive-in-theater-sized screen as “our only entertainment.”
Maybe they found the library, or the backyard. ;-)
Re: microwaves: “Maybe it has to do with the fattening of our society as people have less leftovers to heat up the next day.”
Really? If anything, I would think a microwave would ENCOURAGE the bad eating habits that contribute to the “fattening of our society.”
Maybe it had to do with people actually cooking their own food instead of buying in in a box from the freezer section. Maybe it had to do with people realizing their stoves and ovens are perfectly acceptable ways to heat up their food, including those leftovers (the ones we’re not eating because we’re all so gluttonous). Maybe it had to do with people realizing that if you shouldn’t use it to heat up formula or breast milk, maybe you shouldn’t use it for adult food either.
Or MAYBE, like the rest of the items on the list, it had to do with people realizing that things they thought were necessary really aren’t.
I’d be willing to bet that the people who DON’T have microwaves are, on average, slimmer than those who do. What a horribly unfounded argument in what would otherwise be a good post.
Amen, Kristen! I completely agree with you. I agree: microwaves are far more likely to be causing the “fattening of our society”.
I would suspect people don’t see microwaves as a need anymore because the faltering economy means they are less likely to be able afford the frozen meals and snacks that are the only foods actually requiring a microwave. Additionally, there has definitely been a renewed interest in cooking real, natural, whole foods over the last few years with books like the Omnivore’s Dilemma and movies like Food, Inc. hitting the national scene.
We no longer have a microwave and I don’t anticipate purchasing one in the future. I haven’t missed it for a second. (Not because I have fewer leftovers, but because I haven’t found it to be any more challenging to heat them up on the stove or in the toaster oven.)
Wow, that’s something! I have to make a few comments as to my own personal view of certain things, just for fun.
We don’t even watch TV! We are probably going to get an old one with a VCR built in so my daughter can watch some Spanish videos we have (my husband and I are bilingual, but we haven’t done a very good job of helping her along).
A/C. Yeah, I think that depends on where you live. When I lived in Texas, I mean, south Texas, border-of-Mexico-so-I-got-my-braces-in-Mexico part of Texas, it was so humid (hot is one thing–humid is another) that I not only could not live without A/C, I couldn’t drive without it. I made it to May the first year before hunting up someone who could recharge the A/C in my car. It lasted through the summer, or until the car broke down (I think it broke down sometime during the summer). I kept the house about 80 degrees, though, not 72 like one of my friends. It helped the bill a LOT! Now I live near Portland, OR, and I can’t imagine why I would need A/C. It’s not humid and the night air is cool. Just open the windows at night and shut them in the morning!
I haven’t owned a microwave ever. I just cook from scratch and reheat on the stovetop. I really don’t miss it.
Gardening… Ah! We are moving end of this month, too late to prepare soil and put in a garden in our new place, BUT I want to grow tomatoes and herbs on the porch, and can tomato sauce and maybe spaghetti sauce. And a friend of mine who lives nearby says she always grows too much and is very willing to share, so I’m looking forward to saving a bit from the food budget to stock up on bulk items like 50 pounds of wheat to grind in our grinder for bread, oatmeal for granola, soy beans for making soy milk and tofu…
Sure is a good thing I don’t work! I keep pretty busy right here at home!
last year i cleared out my kitchen of wants vs/needs… out went all the single functional tools….
– i ditched the full size blender (i only used my personal anyway)
– the over sized multi tray veggie steamer was replaced with one half it’s size..takes up 1/2 the space and uses 1/2 the electricity
– we gave away the fancy bunn coffee pot that allowed you to pour one cup at a time by just inserting the cup under the little window
(now we use a coffee pot ‘thermos’ to keep the coffee hot for hours)…no electricity wasted
the bread machine…heck that was a want at one time….i never used it and never bothered to learn how…10 yrs it sat in the cabinet and made 2 moves with us
all those misc kitchen gadgets that i got caught up in…i wanted a pizza slicer, i used a knife…i wanted a ice screen scoop, i used a spoon… and the list goes on and on….
so i rid our lives of all these so-called needs….and so far i haven’t missed a single one….
now my cable tv…. that’s a need…(only because it keeps hubby home at night and out of trouble)…if ya know what i mean….
Kristen, I agree with your points. My comment about microwaves was more ‘tongue in cheek’ than anything else! Although my comment is not completely unfounded. All you have to do is travel virtually anywhere else in the world to realize that the portion sizes we Americans eat is enormous in comparison. Hence, larger portions = less leftovers = less need to use the microwave the next day to heat up those leftovers. Now you could make the argument that we also prepare more food to fill the portion sizes and thus still have ample leftovers. So I think I will just shut up now before I contradict myself even more. ;-)
Great points everyone.
I regularly plan leftovers for my family of 8. Sure, I could use the stove to heat up our leftover oatmeal or leftover pinto beans, but I don’t. The microwave is a blessing to us. I store my leftovers in pyrex storage containers, so they can be reheated in that (no extra dishes that way). It’s also a great way to defrost beans when I’ve cooked them in big batches. I tried doing without one when ours broke, but it made lunches (my whole family is home) and dinners more difficult. Yes, I could go without it, but the time it saves is a real blessing to me.
A/c is a need here, as I live in the desert, where it’s 118º during the day in summer and 107º at night; it will get 100º in the house if your a/c is off or broken (ours broke and we learned how hot it gets). At 100º inside for months, cabinets, door frames, and window frames come unglued and warp. Since we have 5-6 months of temperatures over 90º. a/c is how people live here.
Cable–not a need for us. Second car–not a need. Cell phones–NOT a need. Eating out–NOT a need.
We were always frugal; the difference now (on a third of our precious income) is that grocery shopping is a luxury that we rarely indugle in. Our garden and pantry are what keep us going. Hand me down clothing from friends is a huge blessing. Christmas and birthday gifts for my children and made from what we have on hand. We only have ice cream on children’s birthdays if one of the grandparents bring it (we used to buy it ourselves). We have family only parties; that hasn’t changed, but we invite grandparents for brownies instead of dinner now.
Kristen, I agree with your points. My comment about microwaves was more ‘tongue in cheek’ than anything else! Although my comment is not completely unfounded. All you have to do is travel virtually anywhere else in the world to realize that the portion sizes we Americans eat is enormous in comparison. Hence, larger portions = less leftovers = less need to use the microwave the next day to heat up those leftovers. Now you could make the argument that we also prepare more food to fill the portion sizes and thus still have ample leftovers. So I think I will just shut up now before I contradict myself even more. ;-)
Great points everyone.