but sometimes it’s convenient and facilitates saving money for other things. And oftentimes it’s difficult to know the true cost of discount items with limited information and to choose more expensive goods when on a budget.
These were just some of the thoughts voiced at tonight’s December Book Club on Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shell. Seven YNPNers convened at ZSpace (where Kathleen, who helped coordinate the event, works) to engage in thoughtful discussion about the book and its topic.
Some highlights from our conversation:
- Whether more market choice is empowering and overwhelming
- The Cult of the New (owning new things) and the connection made by the author to affording new things as a false sense of wealth
- Where we recently bought a new item and how we made the decision to buy it there
- A return to crafting, gifting, recycling
- The things we really spend/invest money on (food, shoes, good clothes) and don’t (electronics, books)
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Interestingly, it was the first time for all of us, including myself and Kathleen, to participate in a YNPN Book Club event, and none of us knew each other prior to meeting. We all enjoyed each other’s questions, perspectives, and sharing related to the book and many expressed interest in attending another book club event or even helping to organize. Oh yeah, the refreshments were also very delicious!
Look out for the next YNPN Book Club event in February 2012. The book will be announced in January. If you’d like to volunteer as a book club organizer for YNPN, feel free to leave a comment to this post or e-mail us at bookclubsf@ynpn.org!
Until then Happy Holidays!
