As the recession trudges on, consumers continue to face the consequences of years of easy credit and overspending: Defaults on credit card debt, foreclosures, short sales, and bankruptcies have all been on the rise for months and continue to head toward record-breaking highs.
Those consumers hoping to avoid the full defaults of foreclosure and bankruptcy are increasingly hoping to find at least partial debt relief in limited debt forgiveness, lobbying creditors for principal write-downs on mortgage debt through home loan modifications, for partial write-offs of credit card and medical debt through debt settlement negotiations, and for lower interest rates and fee waivers through credit counseling and debt consolidation programs.
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At the same time that record numbers of Americans are falling behind on their home, car, and credit card payments and seeking out credit debt relief options, the nation's consumers, in response to the crippling economy, have cut back on their spending, started saving more, or both.
"Household spending has shown signs of stabilizing, but remains constrained by ongoing job losses, lower housing wealth, and tight credit," the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee said in a statement after its April meeting.
Will Short-Term Trends Become Lifelong Habits?
A recent Gallup poll attempts to forecast whether these newly developed savings and spending habits are here to stay and whether American consumers will persist in these debt management patterns after the recession has ended.
The Gallup poll , conducted April 20-21, found that the recession may have a long-term impact on the financial habits of the average American: A little over half of those polled said that their new financial habits will continue for years ahead.
Of those polled, 36 percent said they're currently saving more than they used to, and 27 percent believe that they will continue to save more money in the future.
As far as spending, 53 percent of those polled said they're spending less now than what they used to, a figure that helps explain why retail sales have dropped by nearly 10 percent over the last year. This spending less will become their new way of life, said 32 percent. And almost six out of 10 now consider themselves the type of person who enjoys saving more than spending.
Overall, 51 percent of American consumers think that they'll settle into a "new, normal" pattern with their reformed savings or spending habits, an indication that - at least as long as consumers continue to be spooked by the specter of a breakable economy - a new American frugality may be here to stay.
Short-Lived Resolutions, the Long Memory of Consumer Debt
Although the number of Americans who intend to permanently cut back on their spending is impressive, that fiscal resolve may all change once the economy rebounds and the financial markets improve, the Gallup authors warn. Once the economy begins to recuperate, it remains to be seen whether consumers will return to their previous freewheeling spending habits - as the nation's retailers hope - or whether "the 'new frugality' ... may indeed have a chance of settling in as a new cultural norm."
In the meantime, however, even as "new frugal" Americans savor the experience of saving more and spending less, these recently cultivated tendencies can't undo the years of overspending and accumulated debt that overtook most of the country. While newly thrifty consumers may be paving the way for debt-free living during the next decade and beyond, in the current economic environment, there's little to suggest that indebted, cash-strapped, and unemployed Americans won't continue to fall victim to defaults, bankruptcy, and foreclosure as they struggle to find jobs and some measure of debt relief.
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