How the Generation of the High Economic Growth Period Spends Money

Something I always think about when I go back to my parents' house.
They really know how to spend money.
Both my mother and father.
By comparison, my mother is more impressive than my father.
They buy what they want,
and their threshold for what they consider 'expensive' is different from mine.

When I want something, I agonize over it.
I compare, consider, and look for the cheapest place for the same product.
I'm the type who doesn't mind the effort of searching.
On the other hand, my parents prioritize convenience.
They don't spend time searching; they are the type who choose to save time.

And for me, I feel something is 'expensive' once it exceeds 10,000 yen.
Depending on the item, I might even think 3,000 yen is 'expensive'.
But for my parents, it seems they only feel something is 'expensive' when it exceeds 100,000 yen.
If it's 20,000 to 30,000 yen, they buy it without a second thought.

That said, they aren't just squandering money.
It's more like they have an eye for choosing good things.
They don't waste money on cheap goods; that's the kind of approach they have.

When I wondered what this difference was,
it suddenly crossed my mind:
Is it perhaps the way the generation that lived through the high economic growth period spends money?
That is what I thought.

My parents are a generation that lived through seeing the world grow rapidly.
They worked, spent the money they earned properly,
and because they spent it, money circulated back into the world, leading to further growth.
They are the generation that saw that and put it into practice.
On the other hand, I reached the end of the bubble era as a high school student,
and I am a generation that has lived in an era of austerity.
As for spending money wisely... or anything else,
I have lived with the belief that not spending is a virtue.

A generation that has experienced the feeling that 'money is something that circulates,'
and a generation that doesn't quite get it even when taught.
Neither is wrong,
and both have their merits.
But these days,
I find myself wanting to become better at spending money.
As smartly and effectively as my parents.