Its status as a melting pot notwithstanding, our country clearly has vast differences among its regions. In the Midwest, there is one trait that seems to stand out: inconspicuous consumption.
I didn't always notice it. Then, suddenly I realized some years ago that we Midwesterners are exceptionally adept at telling people how much we didn't spend when we buy something. The East and West coasts? It sounds different:
"Yup, I sold my place in the Hamptons and bought a penthouse condo in Naples. Won a bidding war and snagged it for $6.5 million."
"This Ferrari? They only made 125. It's even more rare than the Maserati I sold. Grabbed this for a cool $288,000."
The Midwest? More like this:
"I bought a new lawnmower yesterday. Original price, $499. Wait, though. I had a friend who works there give me his employee discount. Got a senior discount because I'm over 50. It was another $10 off if you'd recently lost a pet. Five percent off for being an organ donor. A $25 credit for donating blood that morning right there in the store. A 15% off coupon from an independent bookstore that somehow I could use at a hardware store. And... I brought in three canned goods for $5 off. The whole thing cost just $32!"
Pay attention to this from now on. I think you'll find this happens more often than you think. Maybe it's our Midwestern sensibility — that knack for putting our heads down and getting the job done without all that much fuss. Or maybe we're just really cheap!
I'm Wester Wuori. I wrote the first draft of this with a cheap pen I found in the couch cushions, and that's my discounted perspective.
Copy Edited by Eryn Lent
