Stretching the dollar has replaced recreation as the American family’s pastime. In an economy soured by a volatile stock market and mortgage lender meltdowns, two-paycheck families are busting the budget on necessities.
Even conservative spenders are growing weary. During a recent small group discussion, a mother of three held back tears as she described the effects of the dollar’s weakening buying power.
She and her husband both work and have been steadily employed for the last twenty years. Three years ago, they felt financially secure. They could afford to eat out occasionally
She’s not alone. Whether a household has one or four members, the double-digit rate rise in the cost of groceries this year is eating up discretionary spending, boston.com writer Robert Gavin says.
or shop at the mall. They bought into a timeshare in Florida.
Feeling the pinch, Americans are cutting back as their standard of living erodes. Asked by researchers how they planned to spend their 2008 tax rebate checks, only one-quarter of respondents planned to spend it, Freakonomics writer Justin Wolfers found. Others in the poll planned to save their rebate or use it to pay down debt.
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