The last few months have produced some cheerful economic news, with strong corporate profits, modest increases in consumer confidence and rising stock market indices. The results, though, of The Harris Poll of adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive, finds almost no change in the steps that people are taking to save money and reduce their spending. Many people continue to economize, and there is no evidence of consumers' spending behavior being more relaxed. The psychological impact of the financial and housing crisis is still very strong. In the sixth Harris Poll since 2009 to ask about twelve steps that some consumers are taking to save money and avoid spending too much, the results in the new survey are virtually identical to those from six months ago. For example almost the same proportions of adults report that they are purchasing more generic brands, brown bagging their lunches, going to a hairdresser or barber less often, switching to refillable water bottles, and more. The survey does find substantial differences, however, between the behaviors of people over 65 and all the younger generations. Matures are less likely to be going to a hairdresser or barber less often compared to Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Echo Boomers, or to have cancelled or cut back cable TV, cancelled landline phone services, or cut cell phone services vs. other generational groups. Spending/Savings Over Past Six Months (Percent of All U.S. adults) Spending or SavingHave doneHave consideredHave not done or consideredNot applicable Purchasing more generic brands 61% 11% 20% 9% Brown bagging lunch instead of purchasing it 45 6 14 35 Going to the hairdresser/barber/stylist less often 38 7 29 25 Switched to refillable water bottle instead of purchasing bottles of water 35 9 23 33 Cancelled one or more magazine subscriptions 30 6 23 41 Cancelled or cut back cable television service 22 20 40 18 Stopped purchasing coffee in the morning 21 4 18 56 Cut down on dry cleaning 21 3 16 60 Cancelled landline phone service and only using cell phone 16 19 41 23 Cancelled a newspaper subscription 16 9 29 46 Changed or cancelled cell phone service 14 15 55 16 Begun carpooling or using mass transit 13 8 33 46 Source: Harris Poll, March 2011 Considered Spending/Savings Over Past Six Months - By Generation (% of Group;Base: All U.S. adults) GenerationConsiderationTotalEcho Boomers(18-34)Gen. X(35-46)Baby Boomers(47-65)Matures(66+) Purchasing more generic brands 61% 61% 65% 59% 61% Brown bagging lunch instead of purchasing it 45 52 51 48 14 Going to the hairdresser/barber/stylist less often 38 38 41 40 32 Switched to refillable water bottle instead of purchasing bottles of water 35 40 36 33 28 Cancelled one or more magazine subscriptions 30 24 23 34 42 Cancelled or cut back cable television service 22 26 18 22 13 Stopped purchasing coffee in the morning 21 25 20 21 12 Cut down on dry cleaning 21 18 13 24 23 Cancelled landline phone service and only using cell phone 16 24 19 13 4 Cancelled a newspaper subscription 16 15 16 17 15 Changed or cancelled cell phone service 14 19 16 12 6 Begun carpooling or using mass transit 13 19 14 11 5 Source: Harris Poll, March 2011 Though the last 12 months have shown that the economy can grow modestly without a substantial increase in consumer spending, says the report, it is very unlikely that the rate of increase in GDP will get much faster until consumers feel more confident. The evidence suggests that economic growth will continue to be sluggish over the next few months, concludes the report. For additional information about the Harris Poll, please visit here.