[BlueSerenity]

Has the Recession changed your spending and/or saving habits...and if so in what way..

Consumer Reports surveyed more than 1,000 consumers and found they learned big lessons from the Great Recession this year and vowed to permanently scale back their spending.

A whopping 71 percent of Americans purchased only what they absolutely needed this year, 53 percent used credit cards less and 39 percent said they put more money into savings.
Consumer Reports calls this “intelligent thrift.” They say it is replacing credit-driven spending and this new fiscal conservatism will last once the recession is long gone.

Survey after survey show Americans are scarred and scared after two years of recession. Even when it ends, it is bound to lurk in our spending psyche, much as the Great Depression was never far from our grandparents’ and great grandparents’ minds. It’s the way boom and bust cycles work, and it’s a necessary response to a generation of pro.fligate spending with other people’s money.

And that’s what it was — spending with OTHER PEOPLE’S money. Middle class living standards of the last 20 years turn out to be a mirage. Now that the jobs are disappearing and the home values have plummeted, the picture is getting clearer. There is no doubt that American families are just beginning to feel the changes that are coming as the middle class undergoes these wrenching changes.

[gifted chick]

no .

[MrCee]

Currently I'm more aware of my spending and if I can save a few bucks I try to do it. It makes you aware of whats more important where in the past I know I've wasted money....

[Appletondon]

HELL YEA! ive gon w/o alot of wants and necessities which is why I dont understand these people they continue to raise prices and bills(3rd time this yr they lookin to raise my electric)but their not raising pay their not hiring people their laying off everyone so how do they expect people to pay for things unemplyment can only stretch so far which is gonna cause the companies to lose more money and have to lay off more people and the cycle will just continue until they eventually close down and its just gonna be more robbin, lootin, and chaos unless something is done I just dont get it I have to pay a fee just to pay my bill WHAT THE **** is that about this country get me sick sometimes

[MrCee]

Originally Posted by gifted chick

no .

moms paying for everything

[BlueSerenity]

there was a time when i would tell ppl that for a regular working person to have some financial security you should have a regular account with enough funds to pay your entire monthly household expenses including a nice misc for the lifestyle they wanted to keep...another little emergency savings with at least $5,000 for things that just pop up like car problems etc...another savings that had at least 6 month living expenses just incase you lose your job...you could then live comfortably until you found another one which use to be about 6 months...and if you had additional income then you would look into other investments...nowadays it takes some 1-2 yrs to find a decent paying job...average wage ppl have used up their savings...financial security is no longer the theme its financial necessity...more ppl are one paycheck away from being on the street...yet so many still continue to live outside their means...this recession was/is a wake up call for those who wanted to wake up...

[MrCee]

Originally Posted by BlueSerenity

there was a time when i would tell ppl that for a regular working person to have some financial security you should have a regular account with enough funds to pay your entire monthly household expenses including a nice misc for the lifestyle they wanted to keep...another little emergency savings with at least $5,000 for things that just pop up like car problems etc...another savings that had at least 6 month living expenses just incase you lose your job...you could then live comfortably until you found another one which use to be about 6 months...and if you had additional income then you would look into other investments...nowadays it takes some 1-2 yrs to find a decent paying job...average wage ppl have used up their savings...financial security is no longer the theme its financial necessity...more ppl are one paycheck away from being on the street...yet so many still continue to live outside their means...this recession was/is a wake up call for those who wanted to wake up...

That's a good analysis of the situation...thanks for the 'free' advice

[BlueSerenity]

personally it made me prioritized my spending...the needs have always been taken care of first but now the wants are questioned more as opposed to impulse shopping...which translates into me saving more...what really helped with that..which at this point may not be beneficial to the economy, is that i used my check card as opposed to my credit card...which basically means that i buy the extra stuff... the wants, when the money is in my account if its not there then ill wait until its there...that has definitely prioritized my spending habit, has made me save more...i kept one credit card and every now and again ill put something on it to keep it active and pay it off by the due date...
vacation is saved for in advance so that going away doesnt become a burden...but if the time comes where i see it becoming an issue then that will change also...
many experts believe that the recession will help ppl get back to the days to spending money they have instead of spending money they dont have...i dont know...our society has a very short memory...and old habits are hard to break...i think for some it will make a change but for many it will be business as usual once things settle down...

[killa]

Yea it's maing me think twice of spending
____________________
Wirelessly Posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)

[Mr. Marcus ™]

nothing has changed for me ... pretty much business as usual

[Mz K]

i was already wise but it made me WISER on HOW i spend. Did i stop spending not at all

[BlueSerenity]

Originally Posted by Mr. Marcus ™

nothing has changed for me ... pretty much business as usual

and depending on what business as usual is for you that may be beneficial to you and /or the economy...because the fact is in a capitalistic society everyone has a "part to play" and all of those parts being played is what keeps the economy growing...so in fact its good whether its benefitting you or the economy or both

Originally Posted by Mz K

i was already wise but it made me WISER on HOW i spend. Did i stop spending not at all

and thats what i think is the silver lining about the recession msk..is that now every one knows what is what when it comes to their finances...everyone knows what can happen and the fact that it can happen to anyone...