Mahoning Valley Cheapness Could Save America

Is the Mahoning Valley better prepared to weather a recession than the rest of the country? As the economy tanks I see many lifestyle stories on the news depicting how life has changed for people in the rest of the country. These stories detail how folks are changing their lives to deal with a slowing economy. I interpret "slowing economy" as being "scared out of their minds that they'll be broke soon". These stories clarify the differences between living in the Mahoning Valley and living anywhere else in America.

The stories generally provide a detailed list of things these folks have had to give up and how doing so has affected their standard of living. This is usually when I realize that living in a recession has been the norm in the Mahoning Valley for so long we didn't realize what we were missing.

Christmas Decorating- CNN ran a story during the Holidays about a couple in Georgia who were cutting back by hanging their own Christmas lights on their house. Imagine the inconvenience! While they were speaking about this hardship the husband was merrily stapling strands of lights on his roof a la Clark Griswold. I saw my neighbors hanging lights. Even the 80 year old guy down the street managed to get a string around his front door without consulting an electrician.

Housing- I like to watch house flipping shows. Flip that House, Flip this House or Property Ladder will do fine. Part of the reason I enjoy it is because I get to see people in other real estate markets around the country say things like, "$450,000 for a 1200 square foot 3 bedroom, 2 bath is a steal!" Uh, sure it is. You can buy whole neighborhoods for that kind of money in the Mahoning Valley. We didn't know we were living the high life.

Personal Spending- How to lists on cutting personal spending are my favorite recession articles. These lists really point out the differences between living here and living anywhere else. Use coupons! Buy generic and store brands! Don't drink $4 coffee! Buy things on sale! Brown bag your lunch! These are all things we already do. I wasn't even aware they still made Cheerios. All I ever see in my cupboard is ToasteeO's. No woman in my family heads to the store with less than a fistful of coupons shoved in their purse. And $4 coffee? I don't think we even have stores that sell $4 coffee around here, do we?

Clothing- Every story or cost cutting list includes shopping at thrift stores. There isn't a city in the Valley without a thrift shop until you head south over Midlothian. Everything north of it has a place to buy used clothes. I'm convinced the reason our style doesn't change in this area is because we're all buying each other's T-shirts, flannel shirts and jeans.

Entertainment- All the articles say we're supposed to cut back on going out. Well, that's done. Once we get married around here we restrict ourselves to a night at Quaker Steak and Lube a couple of times a year and a trip to the dollar theater. Let's face it, our biggest entertainment splurge is cable TV.

So folks, we've been recession living for decades. What's really surprising is how much we have to offer the rest of the country.For the first time in history, our knowledge of cheapness is an untapped goldmine rather than a liability. Our innate frugality could very well save this country billions of dollars if anyone bothered to ask.