Generation P
Generation P? What is that? Well, it's what Visa USA has annointed young consumers, ages 18 to 24 years of age, due to their proclivity to use plastic instead of cash or checks. If you haven't taken a look at the article on The Cincinnati Enquirer about this, you should. The article, Young shoppers prefer 'painless' plastic buying: Checks, cash continue to lose favor was published back in January, but was sent to me just last week by a co-worker who knew I'd be interested in reading it.
The young lady, 24 years old, that was featured in the article stated that she would "get so annoyed" when she entered a store that only accepted cash. She would just go somewhere else.
Howard Dvorkin, president of Consolidated Credit Counseling Services, says that consumers "spend substantially more than someone paying with cash or check." Why? "There's no pain involved when you pay with plastic."
These spending habits attribute greatly to the diminishing savings rate in America. According to the Ecomonist.com, "Not only is household saving close to a record low, but net national saving (at around 2% of GDP) is at its lowest rate since the Great Depression."
So, what does this mean for you and me? Well, I'm not sure exactly. I don't know how you spend your money. I do know that it's important to have discipline in the area of finances. I've had too many bad experiences with undisciplined money management, and quite frankly, I don't want to be broke like everybody else.
I don't care about keeping-up-with-the-Joneses, or having the newest and latest and trendiest. I just care about where I will be when I retire. Will I have the financial freedom to enjoy retirement, or will I be sporting the blue vest at old Wally World? I choose the first.
Honestly, I don't have a credit card. I have a debit card that is used only for gas. I write only one check every two weeks for my daughter's daycare. I use cash for everything else, groceries, clothing, eating out, entertainment, and so on. I've found that it is painful to part with cash, so I spend less. I'm more apt to look for a deal and get the most bang for my buck. And I like it that way.
The young lady, 24 years old, that was featured in the article stated that she would "get so annoyed" when she entered a store that only accepted cash. She would just go somewhere else.
Howard Dvorkin, president of Consolidated Credit Counseling Services, says that consumers "spend substantially more than someone paying with cash or check." Why? "There's no pain involved when you pay with plastic."
These spending habits attribute greatly to the diminishing savings rate in America. According to the Ecomonist.com, "Not only is household saving close to a record low, but net national saving (at around 2% of GDP) is at its lowest rate since the Great Depression."
So, what does this mean for you and me? Well, I'm not sure exactly. I don't know how you spend your money. I do know that it's important to have discipline in the area of finances. I've had too many bad experiences with undisciplined money management, and quite frankly, I don't want to be broke like everybody else.
I don't care about keeping-up-with-the-Joneses, or having the newest and latest and trendiest. I just care about where I will be when I retire. Will I have the financial freedom to enjoy retirement, or will I be sporting the blue vest at old Wally World? I choose the first.
Honestly, I don't have a credit card. I have a debit card that is used only for gas. I write only one check every two weeks for my daughter's daycare. I use cash for everything else, groceries, clothing, eating out, entertainment, and so on. I've found that it is painful to part with cash, so I spend less. I'm more apt to look for a deal and get the most bang for my buck. And I like it that way.
posted by Emma at 7:38 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home