I think it’s fair to say that we’ve all been affected by the economy. And not just now, but in the long-term as well: our perceptions on spending and saving and the true value of purchase have been fundamentally adjusted. This is a good thing.
But it’s also fair to say that a lot of us tend to knee-jerk to the other end of the spectrum. The media sells sensationalism and we’re pushed into fear. We grip our wallets tighter and wait for the worst. The only problem is: this isn’t helping the economy recover any faster.
Economists say we won’t recover until consumers start spending again. But consumers need to, understandably, be prudent. Where is the balance?
In my own family, we’ve actually discussed this. We’re spending less. We’re saving more. But we’re also making a conscious decision to start dipping our foot back into the consumer pool. We’re loosening up our pocketbooks a little in the hopes that (a) we’ll enjoy life a little more and (b) we’ll help the economy a little bit. To help us in our spending decisions, here are a few ground rules we’re laying down:
First, we’re trying to spend locally in Tucson. If small businesses are the backbone of the economy, then that’s where we’re going to spend our money. Buying from local Tucson companies (whatever the product or service may be) is going to help create Tucson jobs and bring a pulse back to our economy.
Second, we’re going back to good old economics to help us in our decisions to purchase. More specifically, we’ve been talking about opportunity costs and how “doing it yourself” isn’t always as cheap as it seems.
As an example, think of the real cost of eating at home. First, you have to grocery shop—you have to drive to the store, find a parking spot, push a squeaky cart, and stand in line behind someone paying with pennies, all before you see the register tape that will invariably total more than you thought it would. Following a trip back to the car (same squeaky cart), unpacking groceries into your now blazing hot vehicle, you drive home to unpack the very same items. Your supplies now taken car of (assuming you didn’t forget something on the list), you now have to prepare the meal. Obviously cooking time will vary (depending on what you are concocting and how many you are feeding), but all in, you’ve spent at least an hour and half before actually eating your culinary masterpiece. Then, of course, you have to clean up.
The point? Your time is money. Everyone places a value on free time differently, but it is at least worth what you make per hour at work. Taking this into account, when you add the hard cost of your groceries to the time it took to shop, prepare, and clean, you’re spending a lot on a meal. Probably more than you realize. And in this economy, there are restaurant deals every night that offer a meal (and service and cleanup) at a price that may be less than what you’re spending at home (FYI: sites like www.tucsononthecheap.com are great for finding nightly deals).
There are hundreds of examples like this. Of course, here at Metro we prefer the car wash example: at Metro Car Wash you can get your car vacuumed, dusted, washed and the windows cleaned in 15 minutes for under $10. And the price to do it a home? Add up the cost of two hours of your time, an increased water bill due to a running hose, and a scorching sunburn on your neck—there’s no comparison.
Here’s the thing: Saving money is important, but we need to think about doing it in the right way. Sometimes, we might save more by not doing it ourselves. And then, in addition to saving yourself time and money, you’ll feel significantly better knowing that you helped save the local economy too.
Stay clean my friends,
DJ DripDry
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