The Discover U.S. Spending Monitor revealed that 67% of consumers of those surveyed gave the economy a rating of "poor" and 82% said they intend to spend the same or less next month with 77% who said they actually managed to do just that in January. Furthermore, while 49% of consumers said they planned on having money left over after paying bills in February, of those who did have money left over, a record 81% said they expected to have the same or more money left over than the previous month. For March, 91% of consumers say they will spend the same or less on discretionary items like entertainment and 85% of the nation’s shoppers intend to either hold the line or reduce their spending in March for home improvements and major personal items. Even though the government enacted a $789 billion stimulus package in February, the move could not sway the relative economic pessimism of consumers of which 69% think that the economy is getting worse.
U.S. Spending Monitor
Feb 08: 86.4
Mar 08: 85.1
Apr 08: 85.4
May 08: 86.8
Jun 08: 85.9
Jul 08: 85.2
Aug 08: 87.8
Sep 08: 86.5
Oct 08: 80.4
Nov 08: 79.7
Dec 08: 76.6
Jan 09: 77.8
Feb 09: 75.7
Source: Discover
