Everyone I know seems to be on a major economy drive this year.... it's as if consumer excess of the Christmas period has acted as the catalyst for a return to frugality...
What seems to be driving this is a desire to cut get what my ex boss used to call more “bang for buck” – a desire to cut down on unnecessary expenditure which is matched by an equal desire to ensure that expenditure focuses on delivering a high quality experience.
How does this work? Well one example is buying your daily coffee from Café Nero instead of Starbucks (same thing, but a quid cheaper each time,) and using local sandwich shops instead of Pret (same saving again). So if you save £2 a day – that’s a tenner a week – or nearly £500 during the course of the working year –enough to pay for an additional, or more expensive, holiday.
Trend watchers have also noted an increased desire amongst young burnt out execs to spend more time ‘in’. There’s a strong desire to save money and have a better time by having people round for dinner instead of eating out, or drinking wine from the supermarket at £3.99 a pop, rather than in a horrid smoky bar which costs you £14.99 for the privilege.
With the increasing hustle and bustle of metropolitan life, this seems the perfect antidote, a way to get in touch, as Matt put it yesterday, with “your inner sofa”.
Nice.
Whether this trend will make it to February remains to be seen, but for now at least, the new going out - is staying in.
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