The only issue I’ve had with the social acceptance of frugality is that I won’t stop wearing a pair of jeans if they have a few modest holes in them. Fortunately, it is currently a trend for kids my age. However, a few years ago I used to get some strange looks by walking around with worn out jeans.

Thank you for the post.

One thing I was very struck by in reading about Alex Martin’s Brown Dress Project (she wore the same dress every day for a year) was the way that others reacted, and I think it’s relevant here:

“When Alex Martin started wearing her little brown dress day in and day out, ‘I expected to get a lot of flak,’ she says. To her surprise, few people even noticed. ‘We are all so concerned with our own lives and families and work and whatever we’re doing, most people don’t judge what you do,’ Martin says. ‘I think we need to give people the benefit of the doubt.’”

We’re doing square foot gardening in our front yard, and the garden boxes are lining our driveway. Raised beds look nicer than when we planted directly in the ground last year, AND the plants grow better.

One instance of social pressure reared its head recently when I suggested buying the window clings advertising my business to put on the minivan. My husband said that because it’s an older (well maintained) vehicle, that it would not portray the image I want to portray… except.. I’m doing financial coaching!

For example, my neighbor found out that I’m pregnant and offered to babysit when needed. I was thinking “That’s great! It will save me so much money, and I won’t have to drive across town to drop the kid off with another friend,” but I didn’t dare say it, I guess because I thought it would make us look poor or stingy. I did remark how convenient it would be to have a babysitter down the street.

Clotheslines do have other justifications these days though, like saving energy because you want a more green lifestyle. So that one might be trendy.

I think there is also a heavy culture to consume new stuff within the keeping up with the joneses culture of the suburbs.

i think we are all influenced by social pressure regardless of or status.

Line drying your clothes is a perfectly normal thing to do here in Australia, even in apartments you see people with their washing out on drying racks on their balconies all the time.

I also always remember my 85 year old neighbor (who has since passed away). She was widowed from a doctor and had scads of money. But she mowed her own grass up until she died. I told her I’d do it for her, especially when it was very hot – she said no, she had nothing else to do and she had the energy to mow. This is probably why she had scads of money and was able to afford 24 hr. nursing care in her last years.

As for the neighbors, most hang out their wash too around here. It isn’t a frugal thing, to me, it’s an environmental thing. As for other stuff, I think we’re actually “one of those neighbors” now because the partner loves free stuff and is constantly bring home random building materials and what not and our property can look a bit junky. It bothers me a bit, but when we’ve needed to build something or repair something, it’s been nice having the materials we need. I try to get him to put it in neat piles, but it’s still not the pristine, neatly manicured lawn of our neighbors by any stretch. Right now, we need these frugal resources, so it’s just what life is and I’m not going to stress over what the neighbors might think (too much, at least).

I can make great pants, I’m just nervous about wearing them to work.

This ’social status syndrom’, along with easy credit has created a huge mess of our society.

Lynnae: Not having a backyard throws another wrinkle into it. I’m looking at this through eyes of someone with a backyard, so it wouldn’t impact the ‘public’ appearance of the neighborhood. Still, as long as you hung things neatly and took them down promptly, I wouldn’t mind you doing it in the front yard — especially if you had a retractable clothesline.

Sara: I’m not saying that livestock is a bad idea. Rather, I’m saying that I wouldn’t want to do it given our circumstances. We’re actually surrounded by farm land (including several cattle ranches and a chicken farm) but livestock just wouldn’t fit into our neighborhood (I’m not even sure it would be legal).

Sam: I agree. If we were to do these things, it would be far more about reducing environmental impact than about frugality. That’s why I said that line-drying your clothes borders on “enlightened” nowadays.

I have a few friends that ask about when I’m getting a new or nused car and when I respond with “when I can pay cash for it” they respect that response.

I’m fortunate to live in a pretty “crunchy” area, though, so I think most people around here think I’m cool with my frugal ways.