The survey also found that there are large differences by age. The proportions of different generations making these changes vary greatly.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,293 adults surveyed online between October 5 and 12, 2009 by Harris Interactive.
The largest proportions of all adults making these changes to save money are:
Smaller numbers, but numbers that represent many millions of people, have also:
Analysis by age reveals some substantial differences between generations on some but not all of these actions. Echo boomers, aged 18 to 32, are more likely than Matures, aged 64 +, to brown bag, to have cancelled or cut back their cable TV services, to have cancelled their landlines, and to carpool or use mass transit. They are much less likely than Matures to have cancelled magazine subscriptions. Baby boomers are more likely than older and younger generations to be buying more generic products, to be brown bagging and to have cut back on their visits to hairdressers and barbers.
These reduced spending patterns reflect a big increase in savings, and economists have been telling us for years that we need to increase savings, notes the report. They also show that most people are taking prudent actions to protect themselves in bad economic times.
On the other hand all of these savings mean less money going to the people who produce and sell these products and services, and fewer jobs. Economists tell us that increased consumer spending is badly needed to generate economic growth.
Spending/Saving Over Past Six Months ( % of Respondents who "Have done or considered doing any of the following over the past six months in order to save money?") | ||||
| June 2009 | October 2009 | ||
| % Have Done | % Have Considered | % Have Done | % Have Considered |
Purchasing more generic brands | 62% | 14% | 64% | 13% |
Brown bagging lunch instead of purchasing it | 47 | 8 | 47 | 8 |
Going to the hairdresser/barber/stylist less often % | 36 | 9 | 43 | 8 |
Switched to refillable water bottle instead of purchasing bottle of water | 33 | 11 | 36 | 12 |
Cancelled one or more magazine subscriptions | 29 | 7 | 34 | 6 |
Cut down on dry cleaning | 20 | 4 | 22 | 4 |
Cancelled or cut back cable television service | 19 | 5 | 21 | 24 |
Cancelled a newspaper subscription | 17 | 23 | 21 | 9 |
Stopped purchasing coffee in the morning | 15 | 9 | 20 | 5 |
Changed or cancelled cell phone service | 14 | 8 | 15 | 16 |
Begun carpooling or using mass transit | 13 | 17 | 14 | 9 |
Cancelled landline phone service and only using cell phone | 11 | 21 | 12 | 23 |
Source: Harris Interactive, October 2009 |
Spending/Savings Over Past Six Months - By Generation (Base: All adults; % of Respondents who"Have done or considered doing any of the following over the past six months in order to save money?") | |||||
| Total | Generation | |||
|
| Echo Boomers (18-32) | Gen. X (33-44) | Baby Boomers (45-63) | Matures (64+) |
| % | % | % | % | % |
Purchasing more generic brands | 64 | 58 | 62 | 69 | 67 |
Brown bagging lunch instead of purchasing it | 47 | 53 | 52 | 55 | 15 |
Going to the hairdresser/barber/stylist less often | 43 | 40 | 42 | 47 | 41 |
Switched to refillable water bottle instead of purchasing bottle of water | 36 | 38 | 32 | 38 | 34 |
Cancelled one or more magazine subscriptions | 34 | 21 | 30 | 41 | 44 |
Cut down on dry cleaning | 22 | 15 | 18 | 28 | 29 |
Stopped purchasing coffee in the morning | 20 | 21 | 25 | 21 | 13 |
Cancelled or cut back cable television service | 21 | 23 | 20 | 23 | 14 |
Cancelled a newspaper subscription | 21 | 12 | 20 | 24 | 28 |
Begun carpooling or using mass transit | 14 | 24 | 12 | 13 | 4 |
Changed or cancelled cell phone service | 15 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 13 |
Cancelled landline phone service and only using cell phone | 12 | 15 | 17 | 10 | 6 |
Source: Harris Interactive, October 2009 |
To access the Harris Interactive PDF file, please go here.
My wife and I are of the "Baby Boomer" generation. We have been living the frugal lifestyle for years. I have written a common sense, effective yet simple solutions, financial education book called "Planting the Seed to Master the Money Tree of Knowledge" Feel free to view my about me page @=> http://bit.ly/169tpl.
Feel free to read my articles on my blog@=> http://bit.ly/ERMz0
Feel free to free follow me on twitter @=> http://www.Twitter.com/FrugalityAdvice