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Recession bites: Curbing alcohol consumption to save the dollars

Almost one in five people report they are spending less money on alcohol when dining out (19 percent) and 17 percent of people are spending less on all alcoholic beverages day to day.

Image by Mick Stephenson (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Image by Mick Stephenson (CC BY-SA 3.0)

To try and redress the steady rise in inflation and onset of recession, many consumers in the U.S. are making major alterations to their lifestyles and spending habits. This is based on insights taken from the latest Forbes Advisor study of 2,000 people.

One of the key economic indicators is with alcohol consumption. Both at home and in restaurants, people appear to be consuming alcohol less frequently, as a result of inflation.

Alcohol consumption

Almost one in five people report they are spending less money on alcohol when dining out (19 percent) and 17 percent of people are spending less on all alcoholic beverages day to day. Over one in ten wine drinkers are buying less wine during their weekly grocery shops, in order to help curb their spending habits (12 percent).

Within these figures, spirits have been growing in sales steadily, matched by a steady decrease by beer.

Technology purchases

Another area where the recession is biting is with consumer technology. Overall, one third of consumers have cut down on money they spend on gadgets and appliances (36 percent). Of those surveyed, one in five (21 percent) are using outdated gadgets, to avoid upgrading them and save on costs. One in six (15 percent) have taken to ‘do it yourself’ (or DIY) in an attempt to fix faulty technology and hence to avoid spending money on new gadgets and appliances.

When it comes to cell phones specifically, more than one quarter have avoided upgrading their cell phone model, to save money (as mentioned by 28 percent of respondents). One in ten U.S. citizens, based on extrapolated data (10 percent),  have downgraded their cell phone package (for example reducing minutes or overall data capacity), as they were offered a cheaper alternative.

Building up credit

The final area of interest within the survey from Forbes Advisor relates to credit. Here the poll found that over half of U.S. consumers have adjusted their credit card usage, in line with inflating costs of day to day living (50 percent).

This amounts to more than one quarter of people being forced to use their credit card more often than previously (27 percent). Contrastingly, more than two fifths of people are being more careful to use their credit card less than they were previously (22 percent).

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Written By

Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

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