Smarty_Pants

Consumers Spending Less Than Justified by Actual Income

Any data on how much of 'income' is going to pay off previous debt?

If expectations of possible job loss are growing, a rational person would start paying down those credit card balances while they still had an income.

One only needs to take a long drive around your own town to see that there are a LOT more 'For Sale' signs sitting on expensive luxury items like autos and boats than you've ever seen before (not to mention the houses).

People are strapped for cash and unwinding the "good life" they've been living for the past several years with borrowed money. The new trend is going to be simplification and return to necessities until personal balance sheets are back in the black for a large portion of the country.