Posted on 11/16/2021 9:31:21 AM PST by SaxxonWoods
People expect to spend more on holiday travel, celebrations and 'big ticket experiences,' such as concerts or sporting events, a MassMutual survey found.
It's the most wonderfully expensive time of the year, and people are expecting to spend big.
A new survey from MassMutual shows that consumers are feeling optimistic about their finances -- and are planning to spend $1,243 on average on holiday-related purchases this season. For comparison, the national median rent was $1,312 in October, according to a report from Apartment List.
The MassMutual Consumer Spending & Saving Index surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults online between Oct. 18 and Oct. 22, 2021.
The survey found that despite record-high inflation, 73% of Americans said they're feeling optimistic about their finances. Thirty-five percent said they're feeling "very optimistic" about their finances, up from 27% in July and 21% in February.
(Excerpt) Read more at morningstar.com ...
In what way specifically are they ‘optimistic’
“Actually, most people are doing well, believe it or not.”
40-45% of the population ARE doing very well. The other 50-55% are treading water.
Funny thing .... nobody I know is “optimistic” about the economy, nor are they planning any splurges. If anything, everyone is cutting back to small, simple gifts, or things they’ve made themselves, etc.
1000 US Adults. Online poll. I think folks will spend more to stock up on things they can’t live without.
if people spend more its because things cost more but also, there is a sense of doom and apprehension and some people like me think this might be the LAST real Christmas if the commie coup is completed...
I regard myself as a student of history, and one thing I have seen is that people are content and happy until they wake up one day and find themselves walking down an icy road in the winter with a thin overcoat, cardboard suitcase, and holes in their shoes.
Nobody living well ever, EVER thinks they are going to be in that situation. They always think it will be someone else walking down that road, and they will still have their dinner parties and fine wine because they were responsible and made money, invested it, and saved it.
Whether it happens by war, personal misfortune, or national misfortune, the end result is the same. Not saying people should run their lives based on that reality, but neither should they ignore it.
There is a line that is repeated in many movies, and it applies personally for me here: “I have a bad feeling about this.”
There is something that, to my eye, is fundamentally flawed in our economic approach, and that famous “Three Days from Anarchy” saying has never felt more foreboding to me.
Granted, I worry about things like energy supplies for winter and the suppression of other things that rely on petroleum for production and distribution. Those things are not important to some people, but I know at least of a percentage of them think food just magically appears on supermarket shelves. The same kind of people who think a steak doesn’t come from a steer cut up in a slaughterhouse by human meat processors who drive to work in cars that use gas to work in a slaughterhouse that is powered by electricity from coal and gas, and transported in trucks, but from a cellophane covered Styrofoam plate on a shelf in a supermarket.
Actually, most people are doing well, believe it or not.
Lol No. maybe in your neck of the woods. My liberal sister lives in NVA the richest county in the the US and thinks everyone is doing great because she lives in a super uber wealthy area.
30 years ago when my wife started her business most people paid cash or check. A handfull would have to charge and make payments but maybe 2% of her business.
Then that turned into credit cards. Rarely get cash now.
Now, it’s “Can I pay $20.00 a month until my bill is paid?”
They must have surveyed the areas where the primary employer is GOVERNMENT of one kind or another. We are keeping Christmas limited this year, and only giving gifts that are useful. Because of “Joe Biden” has his way, I will be out of a job in January (company over 100 employees) since I will not take the devil juice or give them my DNA once a week.
Because most people LOVE BIG GOVERNMENT and love what it can do for them.
My family has agreed to no more gifts. No one needs anything except a dumpster for all the stuff already cluttering up our homes. It is a great relief to anticipate a holiday of simple beauty and spiritual reflection ✨
What a pant-load...
More like they want to spend their cash while it’s still worth anything.
Optimistic. LOL
I just splurged on Personal Property Tax, Heating oil, car payment, groceries and mortgage. I’m broke. How’re you doin’?
I look at business and personal spending more than polls.
Yes, most people are doing well. There’s opportunity everywhere right now, and a lot of people are taking advantage of it. I’m watching buildings and houses go up while everyone says it can’t be done. Jobs are available all over the place, wages and benefits are up. It’s a great time to start a small business. I’ve lived through much higher inflation than today’s so it doesn’t scare me, it motivates me to take advantage of it.
Some people have gotten themselves into a funk. I’m not, maybe because I never watch TV or its news. I observe what’s going on in the trenches and talk to the people who are making things happen. They are kicking butt. I’m investing in them, like always.
Amen to that
“40-45% of the population ARE doing very well. The other 50-55% are treading water.”
Same as always, some people get out there and go for it, some sit on the sidelines and gripe that it can’t be done. Watched it for 50 years, it’s never changed.
Let me just day it.....B.S.!~
Polls are NOT "news"...never have been..never will be.
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