Whatever Happened To Saving Up And Paying Cash?

Whatever happened to saving up and paying cash?    

                                                        

This is an interesting concept that seems to have been lost over the last couple of generations.  I remember when my parents did this.  You may too.  Maybe it’s worth stepping back in time and taking a look at just how different it is today compared to our grandparents/parents time.

The following data comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau, www.mises.org.  We’re going to take a look at the percentage of American household income that gets spent, saved, and/or invested in four key areas: debt service, taxes, lifestyle, and savings.  We are comparing 1940 and 2011.

Taxes, including federal, state, local, and property taxes, totaled 15% of household income in 1940.  In 2011 it was 18%.  Not a big difference.

Lifestyle expenditures were 47% in 1940, and only 40.6% in 2011.  You could say we’re living a less “lavish” lifestyle now.  It might not seem that way, but the real question is “why” is it that way?

In 1940 we put 27% of our income into savings compared to only 3.4% in 2011.  And in 1940 we only had debt service totaling 11% vs. 38% today.  We are not saving and we are massively in debt!  Our lifestyle is being financed by debt, and that’s why the previous paragraph might seem odd.  We absolutely have more “stuff” today, but we “owe” on it.

This is something that requires serious discussions and thought, and decisions that are thoughtful and reflective of what our real goals and visions we have for our lives.  Holiday food for thought.

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Economics 101 and Potato Chips

Economics 101 and Potato Chips     

Potato chips?  Yes, potato chips.  Let me connect the greasy dots.

There are very interesting demographic studies that prove to be very predictable when it comes to human behavior, especially concerning the buying habits of us all.

 On average, couples marry and have children at age 28.  Children consume the most food at age 14, especially potato chips and salty snacks. This fact is not lost on the food industry.  Therefore you can expect that the most potato chips and salty snacks will be purchased by a family household at age 42.  So the grocery stores in neighborhoods with a younger demographic will have more potato chips than a store in a more mature neighborhood.  At least that’s the theory, so I decided to test it out.

We went to the Bashas’ store onScottsdale Road at the western edge of Grayhawk and measured the linear feet of potato chips and salty snacks.  We also went less than 4 miles to the AJ’s  Fine Foods store at  Pinnacle Peak and Pima and did the same thing.  A note for those of you not living in the valley, these stores are owned by the same parent company, with Bashas’ being the more family oriented store and AJ’s Fine Foods targeting a much more affluent and older demographic market segment (and it is a smaller store).  Here’s what we found. 

The Bashas’ store had one major aisle for chips, a secondary area for them, and at least 4 end caps and several small displays all over the store.  The total linear feet of potato chips and salty snacks was over 900 feet.

TheAJ’s Fine Foods store had one shelf area and one end cap.  That’s it.  The total linear feet of potato chips and salty snacks was 270 feet.  Less than one-third the size.  Seems to prove out the theory.

 Believe me, if the older shopper at AJ’s Fine Foods was buying a lot of potato chips, they would have the shelf space to accommodate it.  But it’s the younger family that’s buying and the food industry knows it. 

 These very predicable ,demographic trends come in to play in many more obvious ways, and I’ll be elaborating on them in the weeks and months ahead.  And they are having a profound impact on our economy now and into the future.

 

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