Conspicuous thrift

Interesting but flippant article about keeping down appearances in bad times. I wonder if in our shallow, consumption-based economy there isn't a little longing for some balance or even hardship to give meaning to peoples lives. There is a lot of fat in the Australian economy, although not very evenly spread. After seeing how people live in other countries the idea that Australian's are doing it tough seems a tad out of proportion - it's all relative.