Big spender? Not really

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While parents often complain that youngsters today have no value for money and lead highly extravagant lifestyles, the fact remains that teens have a knack for seeking out the best bargains when it comes to clothes, gadgets or other essentials. And the success of websites like groupbachat.com and Fashion and You — which promise great deals on various commodities — among the younger set of late, has only reiterated the point that wise spending and age don’t have a directly proportional relationship. So what really is the truth? Are Gen Y big spenders? Or are they wise spenders?
TYBMM student Nikita Smith says Gen Y are certainly wise spenders. “We look for the best bargains no matter what it is that we’re buying — be it clothes, shoes or even the places where we hang out. When it comes to clothes and shoes and stuff, I’d rather buy something cheap and then dispose it after a couple of months. That way I can keep updating my wardrobe at a lower cost,” she says.
Your spending habits are partly dictated by the economic strata you belong to, says Lianne Johnson, a second year student. “Generally, you would assume that someone who comes from a slightly less privileged background would know the value of good bargaining skills, whereas someone who has had a more privileged upbringing will be more easygoing about such things,” she says, adding, “How guilty you feel about spending money is what determines how much of it you spend.”
Making a generic statement about spending habits is uncalled for, says 19-year-old Viraj Sawant. “Making it into an ‘either-or’ situation is too much of a generalisation,” he says. “I’ve seen a lot of teens who spend wisely, think a million times before buying something.”
Parents however say that while teens may believe themselves as “wise” in spending because they seek the best bargains, their standards of what is normal and out of the ordinary, where spending is concerned, is very different. Says Dr Krishnaja A.P., the mother of an 18-year-old, “My daughter and her friends went to a fine dining restaurant to celebrate the end of their exams. Their total bill came to over `2,500. While my daughter shrugged it off saying that their individual contributions to the bill didn’t amount to much, the fact remains that she does think it’s okay to go to a high-priced place with her friends.”