Fortune magazine wrote about a luxury recession. Luxury hotel and yacht sales are down for some companies. Studios are offering group pilates classes which are more affordable than private sessions. It seems that there is a frugal elite out there. I know The Financial Times mentioned how Martha Stewart’s followers are asking for cheaper ingredients in her recipies.
I know some of my splurges may seem like luxuries, but I’m not quite to the point where I’m pondering whether to buy a yacht.
What do you think about the wealthy cutting back on spending? Can it really even be considered frugal if you don’t eat fine steak anymore to save money? Are these indicators of slow luxury sales a sign of the times? How are you cutting back?
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The definition of frugal is “characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources”. Therefore, the behavior described in the article IS being frugal. Everyone has a different amount of means/resources so what they feel is frugality may be considered a luxury by others. Also, I suspect the wealthy don’t get or stay that way by NOT being frugal.
Savvy, great points!
I agree with Savvy. We may categorize some of their purchases as luxury items but it is the norm in their world, so if they are cutting back on what they are used to, they are indeed being frugal. I have not cut back on anything yet.
Hello there. Just wanted to say that I loved your “appearance” on NPR. I looked up the normal prices for Arden B online and I think you got an excellent deal on your $16 blouse. Plus, I saw the video clip and it’s really cute. I salute you. The only thing I wanted to add was that I don’t know if you are still subscribed to your cable plan (hard to search adequately on your blog), but netflix is an awesome way to take care of your tv fix. They offer a plan for as little as 8.99 (plus tax) a month where you can not only rent one movie at a time, but you can watch unlimited films and tv online. I have a cord that hooks up my laptop to my monstrously old and gigantic monitor, so I can watch old shows that I missed out on this way, plus there are a lot of current shows for free available online from their various network websites, so I don’t miss having a television at all. I think this is a great way to save money on cable, plus (at least through netflix) you don’t have the constant pressure of commercials to influence your buying decisions. Please continue your frugalista ways. You are fabulous.
“I suspect the wealthy don’t get or stay that way by NOT being frugal.”
I don’t think that could be further from the truth. While what we see on TV often is the examples of super-wealthy people spending lavishly on luxury items, the reality for most is that living far beneath your means, saving and investing for decades is the path to wealth.
If that was a reference to people who take risks with money by becoming entrepreneurs, that’s far different from not being frugal.
what a great blogger? I heard your interview on NPR.org and you had some fun/creative ways to be more organized and ultimately save some money.
You have an excellent blog going on here! Keep it up lady.
There’s an interesting article in today’s New York Times about people cutting back.
The Times called it a recession diet. Here’s the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/business/27spend.html
Came across this blog entries which ask similar questions and provide interesting insight regarding how managers can cope with this recession in luxury?
http://pauravshukla.blogspot.com/2009/04/luxury-marketing-adapting-value.html