Most people have been forced to change their spending habits due to the recession. At one point individuals may have been more prepared to spend large sums of money on expensive brand names, organic foods, the latest gadgets and gizmos, but increasingly people are cutting back and learning to be more frugal. People are worried about losing their jobs and about the possibility of not being able to pay their bills, and thus are looking to make savings so that they can set aside money for the future, since no-one knows what is going to happen.
People no longer demonstrate loyalty to a particular supermarket or brand of product, as they realise that by being less picky it is possible to save substantial amounts of money. Grocery shopping is something everybody has to do, and so people often don’t realise how much money they waste on unnecessary items or more expensive products that happen to come in fancy packaging. When individuals are forced to re-evaluate their spending habits it doesn’t take them long to realise how small savings here-and-there can soon add up when they choose to shop in cheaper stores and opt for a store’s own brands rather than the more expensive alternatives.
The recession means that people are less likely to commit themselves to spending large sums of money on luxury items, trying to get the most out of their television, DVD player, computer, mp3 player and mobile phone, rather than desperately trying to keep up with the latest technological innovations. Sometimes it is impossible to avoid the need for a new washing machine or refrigerator, especially if they break down, but even so people are being more cautious about how they choose to spend their money, shopping around for a bargain rather than buying the first product they come across.
Since people are generally spending less money on luxuries, this means many are more inclined to stay at home rather than going out to the cinema or to eat out. People aren’t buying as many new clothes, and a new make do and mend mentality seems to have evolved, as individuals try to get the most out of products that they formerly would have discarded as soon as they became a little bit worn. They would have thought nothing of replacing an item, rather than repairing it and trying to get more use out of it, which seems to be changing slightly.
This obviously doesn’t apply to the very rich who continue to live the extravagant lifestyle they have always lived, unaffected by the economic downturn. For people on an average income, though, the recession has encouraged them to change the way they shop and to generally spend less money to ensure that they can get by in the longer term.