Boomers, who have grown more affluent with age, are reversing dramatically their spending habits. (See Boomers Caught in Squeeze Play, Adweek.)
Cutting back on non-essentials has been a fact of life for my family the last several years. In hindsight, I'm glad we struggled to live within our means because now nothing shocks me. We let go of all the consumer traps long ago.
The commenters on the Adweek article provide a snapshot of where Boomers think the American economy is heading:
"....the reality is that a lot of US consumption has been focused on meaningless/worthless crap that can be quickly eliminated from our collective buying habits. How much Chinese plastic stuff do we really need? That goes for clothes, cars, TV's, etc. I have personally seen well-off families in my town cut 20% off their spending without breaking sweat.
".... but I am hopeful that we reinvent ourselves as a less consumption-based society/culture."
The changing fortunes of a huge buying segment could have the U.S. economy contracting for years. I, for one, believe this is a good thing.
Other references: Marketing Profs Daily Fix.
Love your concept that we might use this recession not only as a bellwether for change, but also as an opportunity to "reinvent ourselves as a less consumption-based society/culture."
Since you've already cut worthless expenditures, and seem to indicate we all might be able to cut our spending habits by 20% without breaking a sweat, do you have any suggestions as to how we might start doing this as a country?
You know, like the victory garden concept that became so popular during WWII?
I'd love to see a national campaign... an "all for one and one for all" kind of thing...
Posted by: Anne Holmes | March 09, 2009 at 08:24 PM