Page 429 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

her ideas as helpful suggestions. She is considering her audience,
which consists of people who have chosen to read her personal-

finance column and are therefore predisposed to accept what she

says. Although Weston does not suggest that her readers give up

modern conveniences, she does suggest that a pullback toward an

earlier decade would help to fatten the reader’s wallet.

Save Big with the Flashback Budget

Liz Pulliam Weston
My daughter, who’s 12, marvels that there was once a time when 1

you couldn’t carry your phone in your pocket. The first time she

confronted an old-school telephone—the kind that’s attached to the

wall, with a rotary dial—she was like, “Dude, what IS that?”

She may not believe it, but there was a time when people lived 2

happy, successful lives without smartphones. We also got by without

microwaves, broadband, cable television and home computers. We

may think of these innovations as necessities now, but there was a

time that they were cutting edge—expensive luxuries available only to
a few.

Percent of adults polled who rate the following items as

necessities:

Source: Pew Research Center, 2010

Car 86% Cell phone 47%

Clothes dryer 59% Dishwasher 21%