Coronavirus changes spending plans for many, survey says. How will Americans cut back?
Half of Americans plan to change their spending habits due to the coronavirus — and that means cutbacks for some, new findings show.
In an online survey, 49% of people say the pandemic is causing them to “overhaul their finances,” according to results released in August from CouponCabin.
Among people with plans to make financial adjustments, most say they will save on eating out, findings show. In the survey, 59% hope to cut back on dining, while 45% will spend less on entertainment and 39% will skimp on travel.
Other ways people want to move forward include using discounts, sticking to budgets and planning to retire or invest, according to survey results.
CouponCabin, which offers promotions and cash back to online shoppers, says it worked with The Harris Poll to come up with the survey results. Answers from 2,034 U.S. adults were collected Aug. 4 to 6, according to the company.
People may be seeking ways to save money as coronavirus cases continue to emerge in the United States.
To help stop the spread of COVID-19, states have put restrictions on some businesses. During the pandemic, some employers have laid off workers or cut pay, McClatchy News reported.
But there’s a silver lining, with the unemployment rate falling to 10.2% in July, the most recent month for which data is available. It reached 14.7% in April but has fallen each month since.
In the survey, most people say they have a better financial outlook on next year.
“57% of Americans feel that 2021 will be a better year for them financially than 2020 while 30% do not believe it will be and 13% aren’t sure,” CouponCabin said.
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 11:02 AM with the headline "Coronavirus changes spending plans for many, survey says. How will Americans cut back?."
