Also, having a particular demographic seems to me to be a sign of success in the niche media world of the internet. It’s not like you’re a daily newspaper (look how they’re doing!) who needs to appeal to everyone, it’s more a matter of having a dedicated following, I would have thought.

Cheers!

I believe that the concept of hourly value is overrated and it irks me that you are using it so freely.

My job gives me $24 per hour after taxes, not factoring all my unpaid overtime (I am a professional) and my daily two-hour commute. My time outside work is priceless but worth $0 per hour. Any dollar that I can make using this $0 per hour time is all profit!

Seeing how my investments have been depleted by the current economic situation makes the process worthwhile.

Thanks for all your tips!

What crap, SD. You’ve lost a subscriber by not publishing a disclaimer and then ignoring a statement you don’t like.

This may be a generalization, but I think women tend to be more interested in frugality and men in investing. I bet the PF blogs that focus more on investments have more of a male audience.

I am not yet making $50K, but that is my dream when I graduate with my MA next year.

I am 44, husband 50. Our household income is 106k. I totally agree with the post by Chris (comment 13). I am always looking at ways to save anything and live frugally. We do not put much emphasis on the $ per hour value. If it is a frugal habit that fits into our lifestyle I will do it to save a quarter. I very much enjoy learning about ALL frugal habits, even if it is something that currently seems uninspiring it may make me think of another way to implement a new frugal habit or revise a current one.
I totally enjoy saving money and living well below our means. Soooo much less stress and we are much better prepared mentally and financially for unpredictable circumstances.

I think women – including married women – are also concerned with the work-life balance, something that this blog addresses. In families with kids, women often take on more of the child-care responsibilities, so the opportunity cost of working or staying at home (whichever they’ve chose) is in the forefront of their minds. I’d say this blog includes hints for both groups about how to lower the opportunity cost of their choice.

(Of course men face these opportunity costs as well, and I’m happy to be in a marriage that I feel is very equitable in terms of the work/life/child care balance. Still, many women still take on a greater share of responsbility for child care and housework than do men, even when both parents work.)

First of all, there are other benefits to being frugal besides saving money. Less stuff makes my life easier to manage.

Secondly, it’s the 80/20 rule. 20% of your readers probably make 80% of comments. The 20% are probably the passionate people, creating the perception that most of your audience are hardcore.

I agree with Kris that women are more likely to answer surveys and that probably explains the discrepancy. What is the margin of error on that 60% statistic?

I am not surprised that 73% of your readers have a household income > 50K. The median income in my state is right around median income for my state. In a high cost of living area, it doesn’t go nearly as far as one might expect. I believe that the median income for people in the 18-39 age bracket is higher than 50k. My suspicion is that a significant fraction of people who make less than the median income are not thinking, gee, if only I hadn’t wasted my money on all those expensive dinners, I wouldn’t be in this position.

Don’t forget the mixed feedback on the survey itself. Lots of people, myself included, feel that they are misrepresented by surveys. I always come away from them knowing that what the company thinks they’ve gathered about me is wrong, and so I don’t fill them out anymore. (Sorry, Trent.) Perhaps that’s why the age demographic is younger? Just a guess.

Anyway, when I read this entry I had a sinking feeling that now the articles will be consistently geared to this demographic, and that leaves me out. It will be interesting to see how Trent interprets them. I’m looking forward to that post.

Also, about your musing about why most people’s incomes are higher than expected, I think there are 2 answers: 1) as others said people put combined income, or 2) well-off people are looking to the future. Together, my husband and I make over $150,000 a year, but as a couple we are dedicated to frugality both to plan for emergencies and future expenses (layoffs are becoming endemic!), and to give us freedom to walk away and choose an entirely different life if we can ever figure out what that life is going to be.

Last off, I think some of your readers initially got hooked by the info about self-sufficiency (I came here b/c of the post on making your own laundry detergent). I’ve since started gardening and making my own bread as well. Baby steps, but taking us to more emergency independence. Just-in-time supply chains only last until the big storm or whatever emergency comes along. I have more peace knowing I can handle more things myself.

Another reason I like a lot of your “small savings” tips, is that they won’t necessarily remain small. For instance I thought the “small savings” by putting foam insulation an extra couple of feet lower in my basement wasn’t worth it. Then gas prices when up 50% this year and woah! I should have done the extra foam when I first heard of it, it would be paid off after this winter.

Regards,
Erich