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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: 2) by Pino P on Friday July 12 2019, @09:07PM (6 children)
In many cases, the store brand is fine. But I've discovered that only Del Monte canned green beans agree with my taste buds. Happy Harvest (ALDI's brand) made me almost throw up.
Nor is comparing prices while shopping too practical if you're also cutting back on cellular service to save money, as you'll probably end up on a plan with 0 GB data.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 12 2019, @10:23PM
Interesting reaction. When I bought the cheap beans, I noticed some of them had a tougher fibrous band that I had to remove from my mouth. Unless I have a coupon for the better ones, I'll live with the cheaper ones.
(Score: 2) by Booga1 on Friday July 12 2019, @11:55PM (1 child)
Agreed. In most cases the store brand is fine, and sometimes even the same brand/manufacturing plant. On rare occasions I like the store brand better, like Safeway bacon or salsa.
Yet, other times the store brand is just awful like the Kroger frosted shredded wheat. Got to the bottom of the bag and found it was about 20% crumbs by weight, so not only did I not save money, it was more wasteful as well.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 13 2019, @12:52AM
I buy the Kroeger non frosted shredded wheat. $1.25 a box when it's on sale. Branded breakfast cereals are unbelievably more expensive.
(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?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(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).
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Saturday July 13 2019, @08:55AM
Huh? If you're trying to save money, do your background research before you go into town to shop. Make a list of the prices you can get online (or in store in shops that also have an online shop) and buy things when you see them cheaper. Buy non-perishable things in bulk when they're on some kind of special offer. I buy, for example, a six month supply of most toiletries when they're on a half-price sale. I do now have data on my phone, but only because my employer provides me with a SIM. I got that some time in the last year and it's the first time I've ever had mobile data. Nothing is ever really so urgent that I can't wait until I'm near WiFi. When I've visited the US recently, most malls have free WiFi, so you can even check things while in the shops if you need to. I spend under £1/month on mobile service: I'm on a pre-pay plan. Until recently, most calls I made were via a VoIP service over WiFi, now my mobile provider has cut their prices enough that they're usually cheaper to use than other services.
sudo mod me up