Setsuyaku no tatsujin or master penny-pincher is what describes Yuki Wada, a 35 year old homemaker and blogger. She elevated the mundane task of fiscal belt-tightening to a high art and has appeared on television shows and also lectured Japanese lawmakers on eliminating waste.

Some of her frugal habits includes tracking electricity usage of each appliance and turning off everything which does not need to be powered when not in use (she goes as far as turning off the main circuit breaker), recycling bath water for cleaning the toilet or doing the laundry, taping plastic flaps to the inside of the refrigerator to prevent chilled air from escaping increasing its efficiency and thus, having an impact of lowering the monthly electric bill. Her web site provides hundreds of tips on how to save money on utilities or reusing everyday items for other purposes.

In the past, cost-conscious Japanese were often seen as as tightwads. Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai however gave thriftiness and frugality a positive spin. The Kenyan activisit applauded the Japanese for their concept of mottainai, which roughly translates to "don't waste" and comes from a Buddhist term that links all living and inanimate objects. With inflation back in the picture, setsuyaku has also become trendy with part of the reasoning is that it is seen as being eco-friendly.

While this has its plus side in being green, it is also having a negative impact on the Japanese economy by reducing consumer spending on basic goods and services, which is of course, bad for growth. Private consumption accounts for more than half of gross domestic product and economists had been counting on inflation to lift corporate profits and property values with the end effect of making consumers feel they are better off and therefore, more apt to spend by opening their pocketbooks. The exact opposite has occurred since the cost of basic necessities have also risen leading consumers to find more ways to be frugal.

The irony with Wada is of course that for all her yen-pinching, she is carrying a designer bag which costs who knows how much hours of yen-pinching.

Source: BusinessWeek