Consumers are ‘Spending Like There’s No Tomorrow’.

According to BIGresearch’s April Consumer Intentions and Action Survey, (CIA), almost 1/3 (31%) of consumers agree or strongly agree with the spending philosophy of “I live for today because tomorrow is uncertain.” Over 8,000 consumers participated in the monthly survey of consumers.

In spite of this, consumer debt continues to grow. Bankruptcy filings are up 30% as of December 31, 2005 according to the Federal Judiciary System. The Federal Reserve showed that personal savings hit -.07 in January, the lowest point since the Great Depression and the average household credit card debt is between $8,000 and $10,000 as noted by MSN® Money. Still, consumers continue to rack up debt on big-ticket items like cars and electronics.

“The spending philosophy of those consumers who ‘live for today’ is no surprise in light of soaring debt statistics nationwide,” said Joe Pilotta, VP of Research for BIGresearch. “What is surprising are the types of people who actually live this big spending philosophy. While the strongly agreed/agreed response was spread fairly evenly over 18 to 54 year-olds, there was a definite division along income lines.”

“Those who ‘live for today’ were more likely to have an interest-free housing loan, and they consistently spent more than their counterparts in all product categories. For example, of all the people who plan on buying a car, those in the strongly agree/agree group plan to spend $2,200 more than those who disagree with the spending philosophy. However, slightly more consumers who strongly agree or agree indicated plans to begin paying down debt (42% vs. 41%) and increasing savings (34% vs. 32%),” said Pilotta.

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