In this era of The Great Recession I’m actually happy to have read this article in the NY Times today about how Americans have cut back on consumption.

Quietly but noticeably over the past year, Americans have rejiggered their lives to elevate experiences over things. Because of the Great Recession, a recent New York Times/CBS News poll has found, nearly half of Americans said they were spending less time buying nonessentials, and more than half are spending less money in stores and online.

But Americans are not just getting by with less. They are also doing more.

I really hope this is a trend that can stay with us. You don’t need to have every new thing that comes out or have the latest fashion and &c. I’m not saying you can’t but things that are nice and would be useful. For example I bought a Kindle 2 from Amazon because I read a lot and I love it. I saved up for a couple of weeks and bought one. A year ago I got an IBM Thinkpad which I absolutely love and I plan on keeping for as long as possible. I won’t go out and get the latest PC simply because it’s new. Also interestingly enough over the holiday I ran into a lady with the first generation Kindle and she’s still happy with it. She’ll use it until it stops working, she’s not thinking about the Kindle 2.

In a way I also feel I must mention what is known as planned obsolescence. That idea has been around for decades. Even if products don’t completely fail the marketing surrounding newer models and &c. put immense pressure on the individual to upgrade.

It’s time to go back to the article however. I think the article aims to focus on more of the discretionary spending that Americans do like this example:

Rosario and Igor Montoya used to buy, buy, buy for themselves and their two children without a second thought. Expensive sneakers, a new laptop, Legos — they all got what they wanted. But with the recession slashing the Montoyas’ workload and income by more than half, their priorities have shifted from products to activities.

This is really a good trend. It means that people have broken away, just a little, from marketers and Madison Avenue. As far as spending goes the one thing I aim to do is live within my means. I have my spreadsheet and know what I spend on. Personally I spend a lot of money on food because I don’t cook and I budget for that. I’ve also began to start saving from each paycheck. What I don’t spend on are expensive clothes, and getting every new gadget out there. For example I don’t even have an iPhone or Blackberry. I have a prepaid Tracfone which cost me $20 back in 2006. I just ad $10 every now and then to it since I don’t use the phone much. Three weeks ago the shoes that I were wearing began to fail on me so I was able to get sneakers for fifteen dollars to replace them! Take that Nike, Reebok, New Balance et al.