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by devonkim
1767 days ago
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The difficulty isn't for folks like you and myself - curtailed, very conspicuous, TCO-conscious consumption is not that hard if one has the brain cycles and will to defy a lot of social norms. But given the efficacy of advertising campaigns and how spending tends to go up with income it's clear that people spend more on average when they make more money even with more time and brain cycles to spare. As someone that's had a great deal of difficulty justifying a lot of longer lifespan timeline consumption patterns due to moving constantly weighing living circumstances and career I'd say that difficulty varies considerably for households even when one's aware of the TCO. I'm not going to tell an undocumented migrant family that they can just save more and spend less with more conspicuous consumption like buying a reliable econobox car like I did. Decisions and habits are also much easier when one has a partner or support system aligned with one's longer term goals and habits. It seems quite tone deaf to outright declare all of these factors are simply "easy" because it is easy for one's own intrinsic and extrinsic factors. |
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I started saving at age 6, on a 1 guilder (I'm from the Netherlands) weekly allowance.
When I landed my first job, still single, low income, I still saved 30%. I save significantly regardless of income. This to say that I'm not some privileged armchair commenter. I come from the lowest of the lower working class, and have plenty of experience with poverty.
So it's not tone deaf, it's an attitude. Which indeed most people don't have. That's a lack of education or awareness. Not a matter of it being difficult. A few minor tweaks do wonders.
I do agree with one point: it won't work if you don't have a partner that aligns with such a strategy.