Posts Tagged ‘inflation’
Are Microwaves and Air Conditioners Becoming Luxury Items?
It’s one of the indicators of a ‘proper’ recession when the general public starts to rethink strongly held views on what they once ‘couldn’t live without’. Research conduced by Pew Research Center of a large number of US residents asked what household appliances and everyday items were being considered a lower priority as a result of the credit crunch. They asked the question “which of these are pretty much a necessity and which are pretty much a luxury you could live without?” regarding a number of household appliances and gadgets. The list ranged from cars to air conditioners to microwaves to cell phones.The results, perhaps shocking to some, show how more and more of us are becoming increasingly frugal with our purchasing decisions on ‘big ticket’ household appliances and electronics. Owning a microwave became a luxury for 21 percent of people compared with 2006. Having a home or portable air conditioner stopped becoming a luxury for 16 percent of people asked compared to a few years ago. And perhaps most surprisingly of all, owning a TV set dropped 12 percentage points in the public’s estimation of what constitutes a must-have item. It was technological gizmos such as cellphones, high speed internet connections and flat screen TVs that were the ones not to take a hit in the rankings, suggesting that these have become the new necessities of our time.
To be honest many of the results don’t surprise me all that much.You only have to ask around to friends and family to see that frugality is becoming key as we live in fear of rising prices, reduncancies and difficulties in obtaining credit. It seems like most people’s attitude is “only buy what you absolutely need”. Having a ceiling fan instead of air conditioning during the hot summer we have coming ahead. Sticking with the bedroom furniture or fridge freezer you’ve been promising to replace for one more year. Not driving your car as much to cut back on fuel costs and mechanic bills. In my opinion these kinds of things aren’t going to make a big difference to our overall quality of life. The worry playing on my and many other people’s minds, however, is that things will get a lot worse, and it won’t be something we can budget our way out of. Maybe at that point people will start to think about all the billions we pay in taxes that gets spent on war, bank buyouts and corporate kickbacks, and start to demand some real change in our society.