A story about a “frugal immigrant” caught my eye today. An Austrian lady whose monthly income was approximately $2000 a month but expenditures were only $500 was remarkable. Some of the things that she did to save money were more than frugal. They were just cheap. Instead of buying a card for someone else, she would cross the name off the card and write hers before sending the greeting card on to someone else. She paid very little in rent because she reported code violations and the landlord was not able to have his rent increases approved. Also, she had her phone number listed under someone else’s name instead of paying for an unlisted number. When her neighbor took her to a meal at a local diner she would take sugar and cream packets, and bring jars to take coffee home, in addition to taking the rest of her meal home. In the end this lady was able to amass a small fortune of $300,000, half of which she gave to charity and the remainder to friends.

Another story also highlighted younger peopletaking advantage of amenities. This is not very unusual, though some younger (and unemployed) people who are affected by the recession are finding that they are unable to get free WiFi in coffee shops or the hours that they can get free WiFi are limited because they are taking space from actual patrons who are spending money not nursing a coffee all day long.

Being frugal is great!But many of the things that the immigrant did and free WiFi users do are not frugal – they are just downright cheap.

There is nothing wrong with taking the rest of your meal home from restaurants, or using free WiFi if you are a customer, it is when you abuse privileges that the rest of the customers suffer. Just like free WiFi is limited at some cafes to an hour or so per person or not at all during certain hours, in some restaurants you must ask for Equal because too many people were taking the extras home with them.

Frugality also means taking what you will use. If you are at a restaurant and they bring something you won’t use, tell them. Why do you think water isn’t automatically served in all restaurants any longer? It is an extra cost and some people didn’t drink the water.

There is frugal and there is cheap and the line can be too easily crossed just to save a few bucks.

Reduced service has finally affected me. The talk of furlough days, fewer hours and workers in government offices have been discussed but I had not had a problem with this. Monday, August 17,  the library system will be closed. Of course, this is not a life or death matter and I can make other arrangements to do things but what about people who use the city as a cooling center. (Hopefully it won’t be too hot) or those who need to use library computers?

The city website says that city hall, city offices, health clinics and the library will be closed. Essential services will not be affected. Trash will not be collected on that day as well. This move combined with furlough days and other things will save the city millions of dollars.  If this works well enough, could it be possible to have a four-day work week, pay employees less and have the government function? This is the first of three reduced service days planned.

The other two reduced service days are the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Neither day is a bastion of productivity in any office.

Other cities have reduced the number of days that employees work without pay. Essentially workers are earning less but working less as well. Will the recession bring about a change in the five-day work week in some sectors? It is quite possible, considering that there are some stores that have been quietly reducing their hours or closing early regularly if there are no customers or patrons.

Expanded hours means that there is a need. When there are cutbacks in sales hours there is an indication that there is no need or the need isn’t as great as previously anticipated.

According to the Commerce Department’s latest reports, Americans’ personal savings rate (as a percentage of disposable income) fell to 4.6% in June, compared with 6.2% in May. And the May savings rate was revised lower from 6.9% originally.

Have we gone back to our old habits? Money.com reported this information and it seems as though two months ago the savings rate peaked and had been declining ever since. Several months ago saving and frugality became the new chic thing to do like a fad diet. Instead frugality, saving and living within your means should be viewed as a lifestyle. The numbers only decreased for one month and still the savings rate is in positive instead of negative territory for the past year.

If people feel more confident about spending money while including saving as part of the equation that works out well.

Newsweek proclaimed that the Great Recession is over, but we haven’t felt the effects yet. That’s almost like the beginning of the recession, when people didn’t feel the signs of a recession it made no difference. As the economy worsened, the changes became more noticeable – stores closing, job losses, and difficulty getting credit was some of the signs. Improvement is happening, but not for everyone. People looking at their 401(k) statements can see that there are some improvements in the stock market, though people trying to get a loan may find that difficult.

Saving is only one part of the equation. If Americans had a high rate of savings, it might balance out the rate of consumption. Since the savings rate had been in negative territory for years (not including retirement savings) a savings rate in positive territory, even if it is trying to find its level is good.

If you are delinquent on your credit card bill, it may not be Monty Hall calling to make a deal, it may be your credit card company.

The delinquency rate on credit cards has risen, as have calls from credit card companies to people with high balances. Companies are trying to make deals with people in order to get something rather than nothing.

Even with settling for less than the entire amount, there are still high balances around.

“Revolving credit, a close approximation of credit card debt, totaled $939.6 billion in March. The Federal Reserve reported that 6.5 percent of credit card debt was at least 30 days past due in the first quarter, the highest percentage since it began tracking the number in 1991. The amount being written off was also at peak levels.”

Credit brings a different dimension to this recession.  The unemployed and under-employed do not have as much to lose. When you aren’t making any money, your wages can’t be garnisheered. This does not mean forgoing payment. Although no one can say, yet, how taking a deal from a credit card company will affect your future credit or credit score.

Here are a few interesting articles and websites.

• Charitable Giving Declines

I could have told you that since instead of junk mail, I have been getting pleas via snail and email from organizations I have never donated to, donated to in the past or never knew existed.

• Russian Recession Plagued Town Revolts

This is what happens when a quarter of your town is out of work overnight – they protest.

• Fewer Foreclosures in May

The number is still very high.

• Go BYO.com

This is a listing for area restaurants that allow you to bring your own wine. Even if you order the least expensive glass on the menu, that can still be about half the price of your entree. The site lists corkage fees and lets you search by location. There are BYO sites for 10 US cites.

Fed up with the Recession?
Bad news… saving and cutting back may have been a fad for some. Spending less on everything isn’t flying with some people.

• You Can Still Retire Rich

Short version: work, continue to save, start saving if you haven’t already. Also, did I mention you may have to work well into your 60s? You’ll have more money though.

• How the US Surplus became a Deficit

HINT: The current president’s predecessor’s policies had a lot to do with it.