Consumer Attitudes Toward Spending vs Saving Money [CHART]

Chart: Attitudes Toward Saving vs Spending

Some 59% of Americans say they prefer saving money to spending money, compared with 38% who favor spending, according to the latest Gallup survey on financial habits, fielded among 1,019 adults. This represents a 6-point drop in the share of savers from last year’s high of 65%, and a corresponding 5-point increase in spenders.

Even with that drop, the results show a clear preference for saving over spending, something that has stood fast since at least the turn of the century.

Meanwhile, more respondents claimed to have been spending less money in recent months (36%) than spending more (30%), although the gap between these groups has been closing back to early 2014 levels.

Another notable finding is that almost one-quarter of adults who reported spending less money recently anticipate that this will become the new normal for them. Likewise, 20% of those who reported spending more money than usual claimed it was just a temporary change in spending patterns. This apparent frugality makes some sense in light of separate results revealing that an overwhelming majority (85%) of Americans are watching their spending very closely. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.com.