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from the I-can-spend-until-I-reach-my-credit-limit,-right? dept.
If you have credit card debt, it may be time to scale back what you spend on luxury purchases.
But we’re not talking about doing without small luxuries like your morning coffee or an afternoon snack – things like your car loan or lease, leisure travel, dining and more can make a bigger difference.
A new CreditCards.com poll shows U.S. consumers who have credit card debt are outspending debt-free households in seven of nine discretionary spending categories (see chart). However, few are willing to cut back on any of their luxury purchases.
In fact, 18 percent of Americans who have credit card debt are unwilling to trim expenses in nine categories, including dining out, leisure travel and clothing (see chart). This despite the fact that the average credit card APR is nearly 18 percent.
[...]Our luxury spending poll also found:
- Many can live without dining out. Dining and takeout is the category all respondents – in debt or not – are most willing to cut in half. Still, less than half of those with credit card debt (48 percent) would trim their dining budgets, which average $2,186 per year.
- But vacations are a big budget item many won’t budge on. The average household with card debt spends $2,211 per year on leisure travel. But only 3 in 10 of those respondents would be willing to cut their travel spending in half.
- Cars, haircuts and cellphone plans are the biggest must-haves. The three categories people in debt were least willing to cut in half are personal care and beauty (23 percent), cellphone services and upgrades (25 percent) and car loans or leases (26 percent).
- Cut my streaming? You’re dreaming. Only 39 percent of respondents with debt would be willing to cut back on subscriptions services such as Netflix, Spotify and Xbox Live. However, at $1,198 per year, it’s the second-least-costly luxury expense among this group.
https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/luxury-spending-poll/
(Score: 3, Touché) by Runaway1956 on Saturday July 13 2019, @12:28AM (1 child)
ROFLMAO
You don't need a cell phone, a computer, or even a calculator to do comparison shopping. Been doing it all my life, without any gadgets, unless you count a scrap of paper and a pen as a gadget. Fact is, much of the "comparison shopping" is done for you, in most stores. Typical store shelf has maybe nine different brands and/or sizes bags of sugar. Beneath each row of bags, is a tag on the shelf that tells you that bag of sugar costs xx.x cents per ounce/pound.
I can neither agree, nor disagree regarding you opinion of store brands. I know for a fact that many store brands come off the same canning/bottling lines as Del Monte, Vlasic, or whatever your favorite brand. I also know that some store brands positively suck ass. For that reason, you have to shop a little. If your store brand truly sucks - maybe you should try a different store?
(Score: 2) by quietus on Saturday July 13 2019, @09:18AM
In addition: save yourself time, and go for the lowest or highest shelves if you want a good deal (store marketing 101).