Family thriving depends on thrift, so in that spirit I want to wish you a Happy Thrift Week. To learn more, see the website of our Center for Thrift and Generosity, NewThrift.org.
And, read Center director Andrew Kline’s piece in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer:
…Thrift should be part of the debate about the future of the American middle class. To that end, as part of this year’s Thrift Week celebration in Philadelphia, Andrew Hill of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve will present important new research on teaching financial literacy in area high schools. Hill will gather with educators at the Historical Society on Saturday to address the challenges of personal financial education. At a luncheon open to the public, they will explore how research on financial education illuminates the understanding of thrift as a cultural movement and value.
The hometown of Ben Franklin is an ideal place to test the kite of financial education in the thunderstorm of financial decision-making. We owe our children a lesson on thrift and the wisdom it takes to thrive.
Categories: Marriage and Money
I would really like to see some form of practical life skills come back to middle schools. Say a combination of cooking, budgeting, and home repair.
I am always intrigued by the combination of values you guys have chosen to focus on – family, marriage, civility, and thrift. All good things, but not what I would put together if I were making a list.
Why do you use the word “thrift”? I ask because I have almost a visceral bad reaction to the word—and trust, I’m all about saving money. Maybe it’s because of my association of it with “thrift stores”, which in downstate Illinois are mostly filled with shoddy-quality junk (actually usable used items go to resale shops or are sold in the want-ads of free papers or on eBay). It brings to mind hoarding—whole rooms and garages full of broken stuff. I might be the only one on this thread with this reaction (*smile*), but I can’t be the only one having it. It’s just……the most popularized strategies for so-called thrift never seem to allow for real value or quality; it’s all about short-term savings, not long term savings and certainly not about enjoyment or pleasure—-like a contest to see who can live the most ascetic life. No happy medium.