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Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu

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Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#401

Post by somebodynew »

fleddr wrote: post #398

Economic shocks are not fun, but to lighten the mood I figured to share a weird but hilarious subculture: vrekken. A "vrek" is the dutch word for somebody that is extraordinarily frugal in unhealthy ways. The vrekken culture embraces this as a quality and then escalates it to Olympic standards. Not even out of necessity, instead as an avenue for creativity. Here's one such vrekken news paper of the "Saver of the Fath…

In America there are subcultures devoted to couponing (hunting for discount promotions) and churning (opening many credit card or bank accounts to collect "new account bonuses").

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#403

Post by indecisive_user »

fleddr wrote: post #398

Economic shocks are not fun, but to lighten the mood I figured to share a weird but hilarious subculture: vrekken. A "vrek" is the dutch word for somebody that is extraordinarily frugal in unhealthy ways. The vrekken culture embraces this as a quality and then escalates it to Olympic standards. Not even out of necessity, instead as an avenue for creativity. Here's one such vrekken news paper of the "Saver of the Fath…

There was a TV show on the TLC channel that covered people like this in the US.

Called Extreme Cheapskates

https://youtu.be/D8Yerg78m7M

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#404

Post by throwaway894345 »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #361
throwaway894345 wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of emergency would: 1. leave me with cash 2. not affect the ability of shops, hotels, etc to process those cash payments and render goods and services 3. prevent me from driving to the next town, county, etc

When hurricane sandy rolled through NJ/NYC area, I remember the power being out for 4+ days, and we used cash to buy groceries and fuel. I also did not have time to drive 1+ hours for supplies, especially when roads were not necessarily cleared of trees and whatnot, and I had elderly to take care of at home. Also, gas itself was challenging to get with very long lines so driving an hour was not a guarantee to getting…

I’m surprised gas pumps and everything else still works without power. I guess if you’re effectively tethered to an area that is prone to widespread regional disruptions it makes sense, but that’s a lot more niche than the original “I can’t imagine not having at least a couple hundred dollars in cash…”.

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#405

Post by fdr »

mabbo wrote: post #206
ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #2

Being poor in general, during your childhood, scars you for life. It makes you penny wise and pound foolish, adverse to taking risks in your career and investments, can destroy your confidence in yourself, while always having to look over your shoulder monetarily speaking. Habits that even after you remove poverty from your live, you still feel the the anxiety and triggers in your head.

My wife grew up very close to the poverty line, with her parents always just about to lose the house. And she has this anxiety. (Edit: to be clear, she's a successful civil engineer, considered one of the best in her field locally and makes great money- she has nothing to worry about.) In order to help with it, we have a bank account that our bills come out of that has a little more than 6 months worth of all our bil…

Six months is not unwise, in my view.

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#406

Post by refurb »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #2

Being poor in general, during your childhood, scars you for life. It makes you penny wise and pound foolish, adverse to taking risks in your career and investments, can destroy your confidence in yourself, while always having to look over your shoulder monetarily speaking. Habits that even after you remove poverty from your live, you still feel the the anxiety and triggers in your head.

"Scars you for life"?

I mean, the generation who went through the Great Depression did pretty damn well in terms of savings, investment and a lack of waste.

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#407

Post by refurb »

mcguire wrote: post #254
yunwal wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stocks are liquid enough that you can sell enough to pay your credit card off before getting hit with interest. There's no reason to have 6 months worth of expenses in cash just sitting around unless you strongly suspect a crash.

The S&P 500 is down 21% since the beginning of the year.

But still up 40% from the post-Covid low.

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#408

Post by demadog »

beezle wrote: post #297

I was a kid during both oil shocks of the 1970s. That has absolutely nothing to do with my driving. What does, and not just for driving, is the family taught cultural value of 'don't be wasteful'. So unlike so many people today, I don't make 12 trips a day to stores/friends/whatever when I can just make one or two if I actually think 5 minutes ahead. That applies whether gas is $1 or $5 per gallon. I also try to make…

I was a kid in the 90s and I still try to do as little trips as possible.

Re: Price shocks in formative years scar consumption for life

#409

Post by mrleinad »

fleddr wrote: post #398

Economic shocks are not fun, but to lighten the mood I figured to share a weird but hilarious subculture: vrekken. A "vrek" is the dutch word for somebody that is extraordinarily frugal in unhealthy ways. The vrekken culture embraces this as a quality and then escalates it to Olympic standards. Not even out of necessity, instead as an avenue for creativity. Here's one such vrekken news paper of the "Saver of the Fath…

Sounds like my father in law: voluntarily chooses not to turn up the heat in winter to avoid spending, even when he could pay the bill multiple times and still have plenty left from his retirement monthly paycheck.
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