I think so. Where you live may make it easier or harder to be frugal inherently, but there are also the attitudes and social norms of the area which make it harder psychologically to be frugal.
Now, I do think that it is inherently easier to be frugal in the country than in the suburbs/city. First of all-to quote my husband-“eggs are cheaper in the country”. When you are closer to the source of something the prices for that item are cheaper. Also when you are in an area where the income level is lower then the prices for everything also seem to be lower (it seems that even big business realizes you can wring blood from a stone). Folks in the country tend to have larger lots where they can plant a garden or put up a clothes line (and do it without being in violation of their subdivision covenant!). There is frequently just not as much available to BUY in the country (although with internet ordering anyone can buy anything these days), so you are not bombarded quite as much with the opportunities to spend you money.
On a psychological level, the attitudes of people in the country seem to be different. People who make a living off the land (or even off the folks who make a living off the land) are rarely rich, and for generations have had to conserve their resources. Even if this is not an absolute necessity in the present, that mentality has permeated the local society to some extent. I think this results in many thrifty practices being more socially acceptable. It is easier to be frugal when you do not sense criticism for it from your social circle. (then again-if you do get criticism, maybe it is time to change social circles!) It takes a strong person to go against the flow and continue to be truly thrifty when your social peers are acting like you are crazy. My kudos to those of you out there who are in situations where you are doing that!
This week I’m visiting my sister in Plano, a suburb of Dallas and the differences between our communities is amazing. This is the land of urban sprawl and McMansions. If you want to buy it, you can find a shop selling it in one of the tasteful strip malls in the area. You see tons of expensive SUVs driving around.
Now, my sister and her husband are very practical people, not given to buying frivolous things, or spending tons of money on themselves (well, except for that insidious card stamping habit of my sisters). They are not wasteful with their money–as a matter of fact I would be willing to bet that they are much more practical and spend much less on things than their friends. On the other hand, I would not say that they are frugal either.
The community they are in is not particularly set up well for being frugal. They have a small backyard lot which has a tall fence. If they planted a veggie garden of any size it would take up most of the land-ditto with putting up a clothes line (although they could probably put an umbrella clothes line up and do a few veggies in pots or raised beds). I get the impression that if the neighbors looked over the fence into the backyard they would think that bothering to have a clothesline was rather odd. You don’t see farm stands selling cheap produce in the summer, and yard sales are just not popular. Whereas I brag to my friends when I pick up some great steal at a yard sale, I think my sister would be embarrassed to tell her friends and just not mention where she got it. (that is not a criticism of my sister, it is just an example of the social differences in the communities) The feeling of “keeping up with the jones” just seems to be much more prevalent here (although not particularly with my sister’s family-as I said they are practical and down to earth).
Even though my sister’s library (which is about 6X as big as mine at home) has a great children’s section and fairly extensive kid’s video selection, their adult section usually only has a few copies of the new releases (with huge waiting lists because of the size of the population) and a truly measly assortment of videos, dvds and audio tapes. I think this is because people the community are much more likely to buy items rather than borrow them from the library. My sister also said that the thrift stores in the area are not very good-probably because not very many people in this are visit them (she’d probably have better luck in a slightly lower income area a bit closer in to the city)
Another interesting thing to consider is that things are just so much more convenient in suburban/metro areas than in the country. When you are used to instant gratification, the extra time involved in being frugal (because in most cases for frugality you trade some of your time for money ) seems like too much of a bother, and the little bits of money that you save each time don’t seem like they would add up to much.
Does that mean that you can’t be frugal and save money in suburbia? No, of course not. Although there are no Aldi’s within 180 miles of my sister (a true bummer) there is a Save-a-lot 30 minutes away. Due to the ethnic population of the greater Dallas metro area, there are a bunch of Asian, Indian, and Hispanic grocery stores which I am sure offer great deals on grains, legumes, spices etc. You could put up an umbrella dryer and plant a small raised bed garden. There are a lot of foods and household items that can be made from scratch and used without status conscious neighbors even noticing. After all, when was the last time you went to visit someone and then peeked under the sink to see if they were using “Windex” or vinegar and water? Or if they made their own laundry soap or used “Tide”? (then again-my reader base may have actually done that out of curiosity!)
As a side note–you can conveniently play off many of your areas of frugality with the more socially acceptable excuse of being environmentally conscious and more natural. After all, if you make your own cleaning products it could be because you don’t want to subject your family to harmful chemicals (instead of just being cheaper) and you could be cooking from scratch so that you can avoid unhealthy preservatives and know exactly what you are feeding your family (instead of just saving money). Personally I like to be a sort of living testimonial to frugal living and enjoy telling people about my latest deal or cost saving measure, much to the embarrassment of my dh. Hey-I like to remind him that most guys complain about their wives spending too much money.
Jenn,
I agree with the social pressure aspect of frugality. I find it fairly easy to be frugal in Portland (Oregon), mostly because I live in a lower income (but not high crime scum city)area of Portland. I Have friends who live in the upscale areas of Portland and they would not be caught dead using a clothes line of bargain shopping and once a month or once a week prepping their foods. Then again, I know lots of people who live in the upscale areas who bike to work. For them it is an environmentally friendly choice and keeps them in shape. Gotta say, most of my bicycle commuting friends also have a gym membership and work out frequently in addition to the work commute.
Jenn, I whole-heartedly agree that social attitudes toward frugality vary based on location. I love your observation that if your social circle criticizes your choices, it might be time to get a new circle of friends!
I grew up in Texas and I’m intimately familiar with the Dallas suburb of Plano. It is over-the-top suburbia. Good luck surviving the strip-mall capital of the world this week!
environmentally conscientious vs. frugality… I like the issues it brings up. Time vs money. It seems our society has created an unhealthy environment for the sake of convenience. You don’t have to vail frugality with environmentalism but instead support frugality with it.
When I was in Hawaii I tried to “live green” …well… “live green-er”. Like frugality, it is a long and sometimes challenging journey. It takes commitment. It is unfortunate that eco-friendly items are often more expensive – so it is hard to be frugal AND green….
There has been a lot of growth in the county I live in. When we moved here in 2000 from the DC metro area, we felt like we were almost in the country. Not even 2 years later we witnessed so much growth. Back then, we had 2 grocery stores, now we have ALL of them (That’s 6 – including Super Target and Walmart. There was one more but the chain went out of business last year). The Aldi’s is about 15 miles away, but with all the competition, I can find just as good deals at one of these supermarkets. The problem I face now is time. More often than I’d like, I am too tired to go to more than 1 grocery store (with my 2 young boys and another on the way) o get the good sales. I find myself in the dillema of whether I buy in one place for convenience or change my meal plans. I have recently been thinking that it would be much easier to be (or at least feel) frugal if I didn’t have so many choices.
As for thrift stores, 2 new Goodwills (called GCF community foundation) have opened within 2-3 miles of each other. Basically because 2 major upscale developments have been built in the recent years, there is a good selection. I find a lot of different people shop there, not just lower income. It might be because real estate is relatively cheaper here than in other parts of the country and people moving from there can get more house for their money. So although they are living in brand new large houses, their mindset is still of living in a small townhome in LA.
I know it has been much easier to be frugal in Kansas than it was in Colorado. Things are inexpensive here, housing is more inexpensive, and there are stores like Sav-A-Lot and Aldi. I had a much easier time getting cheap bulk health food, like soy flour and such, in Colorado though.