Frugality admirable, but could be Catch-22

By Patricia Hunt
Published: September 5, 2008

There is at least one family in the Augusta County area that has figured out how to raise a family on an income of $40,000 or less. I will call them Susan and John. Their mortgage is their only debt. They have three children, the oldest of whom is 11. They have a three-bedroom, two-bath, ranch-style house, two cars, and six months’ living expenses in savings. They get health insurance through the employer of the husband and father who is the bread winner. Susan does not work outside the home. They contribute 15 percent of their income to church and charities. How do they do it?
I think their secret (if you can call it that) is revealed in the statement, “We have worked hard to achieve the financial place we are in. There were times (before we bought the house in particular) when I felt deprived and ‘poor,’ but that feeling has long since been replaced with a sense of fulfillment and purpose in our choices.”
Susan and John have chosen a life that is different from most Americans. They never eat out beyond getting a pizza once a month. Their clothing is mostly second-hand with some clearance-sale items. Children’s gifts for birthdays come from yard sales. They know a couple of families who are choosing this way of life, too, so they have friends who don’t pressure them to spend money they don’t want to spend. They do not have cable TV or cell phones. They rent videos or read books for entertainment. They pay off cars in 2-3 years and make extra payments on the mortgage when they can.
They had a few things go right. They once had a modest house in Charlottesville, and its value nearly doubled. They sold it and bought a house in the cheaper Waynesboro area. Their house payments are only $500 a month.
Susan tells me that over the last decade or more they have received maybe $6,000 in gifts from family, but they never used it for everyday expenses. She also received WIC benefits at one time. (WIC is a government program for women, infants and children to aid pregnant women and new mothers.) Lest you conclude that these people are quick to sign up for government money, they turned down aid they were eligible for when one of the children was born. 
Somehow Susan manages to feed her family on $150 a month. This is a challenge and requires discipline and planning (and no packaged cookies or chips or sodas). They have no pets. Their vacations usually cost no more than $500, but they did save for two years so they could splurge on a trip to Disneyworld. John carpools to work.
Susan writes, “I believe that God has honored our commitment to use His money wisely, and has provided us with surplus so that we can be a blessing to others.”
If I were to stand in front of a group of young people or even older people and tell them that they could go to work every day and still never be able to afford new clothes, cable television, a cell phone, a vacation or even dinner and a movie or a concert, most of them would be angry and depressed. They would tell me that what I was describing was poverty. This family’s ability to do what they are doing depends upon judging the quality of their lives by measures that have little to do with what they are able to purchase. That is pretty radical in a “consumer economy.” I think this would be hard to pull off if the focus of the family was on denying themselves most of the things people deem essential to be a part of American society.
I am also made acutely aware that about half of American families would have to be as frugal as Susan and John to live within their means. It also means no matter how hard many families work, the standard of living achieved by Susan and John is the best they can do without debt. Without health insurance and a bit of luck even this level would be impossible.
The last thing that occurred to me was that if Americans suddenly chose to emulate Susan and John, the economy would collapse in a few months. The unemployment rate would soar. We are not only addicted to oil; we are addicted to a way of life that may not be sustainable, yet kicking the habit could destroy us.
During World War II, Americans were asked to buy war bonds, to use their money to invest in America. After 9/ll, Americans were asked to shop to demonstrate their patriotism. We are in dangerous waters, and it is going to be extraordinarily challenging to turn our situation around.
Patricia Hunt, of Staunton, is a chaplain at Mary Baldwin College.