Well, folks, it looks like thrift is in fashion these days and I am happy to bring you more news about cheap stuff. I heard a story on NPR last weekend about bartering.
It features a company called Barter Business Unlimited, which exchanges goods and services for credit. I think it’s interesting to see our economy start to move toward basics. I know that for years folks like me and my sprawling Irish Catholic family have been in the minority in their spending habits, and for years I have heard economists tell me that if I spend money I am good for the economy, if I encourage others to be cheap like me, to buy second hand, to save their funds, well then I am free market enemy #1 (*see more on the paradox of thrift here).
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Hi Folks! I have a few things to tell you about this week. First off, let me just say for all my snarkiness about Black Friday, I was absolutely horrified to see the news that day and find out about Jdimytai Damour being trampled to death at the pre-dawn opening of a Long Island Walmart. I am not going to vilify Walmart, or the people who did the trampling. That is not my job, but I do want to clarify that being thrifty is an attitude, a lifestyle that values the beautiful and not the expensive. One of the basic tenets of being thrifty is tossing away the idea of keeping up with the Joneses. You live with what you need and if you can get some pretty things and enjoy nourishing food while being good to the world, well that is the best deal in town. Being thrifty is the absolute opposite of stampeding at Walmart.
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Hello friends. It is a rainy Tuesday before Thanksgiving and we are probably all thinking about how many outfits we need to bring to our parents, and whether it is better to wear the red sweater to dinner or the blue one. Well, at least that is what I am thinking about.
So, is everyone getting ready for Capitalism’s biggest holiday? Black Friday?
All the newscasters can talk about is what will happen on Black Friday? Will the fate of the American economy be determined Friday? Will the shopper see his shadow or will we have six more months of recession? Wait, oh, that’s a different holiday.
I propose we change our national flag to the following:
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My new favorite radio show is the The Takeaway. I love the snappy back and forth between John Hockenberry and Adaora Udoji (best name ever!). Sometimes it is the beginning of this show that wakes me up. Sometimes the news sounds like a dream (President-elect Obama). Sometimes it sounds like a nightmare (economy, economy, economy).
So this morning, when I heard John say that the U.S. Treasury Department and The Fed bailed out AIG, I thought I had traveled through time.
And then I heard the word hanging on to the end of that statement. “Again.”
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This morning I woke up and in what I thought was a dream state, heard Soterios Johnson say that the winds could be up to 40 miles per hour today. Whatever it is you do, no matter how much money you make, may you stay inside today. Forty miles an hour. That is some WTF news.
So, in light of that news, I don’t plan on going out today, except perhaps for my daily walk. In fact I haven’t been going out much lately, which makes Episode Two of Bee Thrifty less exciting.
Less exciting, it’s true, though abundantly more thrifty.
I think we can all learn from it. So, let us begin.
[L-R: Untitled Painting #11, Blake Rayne, Miguel Abreu Gallery at Art Basel; Untitled, Kerstin Brätsch, Salon 94; Doctor Atomic at the Metropolitan Opera]
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Hello everyone! My name is Christine Rath and I am new to the Neighborbee hood. My mission: To find you the good life on the cheap. I am a grad student and I pride myself on thrift. In these tough times, who couldn’t use a little cheap fun? Sans risk of VD, of course. I said cheap, not seedy!
This past Friday I wandered into Chelsea for the opening of ‘Monitor’ an exhibition by artist Noah Fischer at Claire Oliver. Fischer’s lo-tech sculptures made of oh-so-familiar machines may have you scratching your head, but hopefully it’s because you’re receiving his transmission regarding “calling into question the ultimate function of our entertainment- based culture” as the press release for ‘Monitor’ suggests. This is a good event for the poor in the wallet and for those who have joined the revolution against consumerism for moral reasons, as Fischer’s refashioning of the icons of our new gods, can help us feel like being poor isn’t a curse, but a virtue. I almost threw my iPhone in the Hudson on my way home.
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umi no le
