Americans Doing More, Buying Less, a Poll Finds

[cali]

Barbara P. Fernandez for The New York Times

By DAMIEN CAVE
Published: January 2, 2010

MIAMI — Rosario and Igor Montoya used to buy, buy, buy for themselves and their two children without a second thought. Expensive sneakers, a new laptop, Legos — they all got what they wanted. But with the recession slashing the Montoyas’ workload and income by more than half, their priorities have shifted from products to activities.

After school and on weekends, the family now hops into a pink canoe they bought secondhand. They paddle though Biscayne Bay to nearby islands, naming each, sometimes making boats out of sticks and leaves.

“I’m trying to teach the kids that you don’t need to have expensive toys to have fun,” said Mr. Montoya, 47, an artist and freelance art director in advertising. “You can make it fun, from anything.”

Quietly but noticeably over the past year, Americans have rejiggered their lives to elevate experiences over things. Because of the Great Recession, a recent New York Times/CBS News poll has found, nearly half of Americans said they were spending less time buying nonessentials, and more than half are spending less money in stores and online.

But Americans are not just getting by with less. They are also doing more.

Some are working longer hours, but a larger proportion, the poll shows, are spending additional time with family and friends, gardening, cooking, reading, watching television and engaging in other hobbies.

<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/business/economy/03experience.html?hp

[Hannah Bell]

1. isn't it great! being unemployed gives you more family time!

[madrchsod]

2. being forced to retire at 62 is really great!

thank goodness my wife and i had to live on her income for 5 months after my unemployment ran out! so now i get just enough from ss to make the mortgage! god i love america where endless wars drain the nation dry and our jobs are sold to the lowest bidder.

[Hannah Bell]

3. oh, just get in your little pink canoe & kwitcher whining!

[madrchsod]

4. i just rang up another 5000 bucks on my medical bill

over the last couple of days so i`m in a real good mood. yes i have insurance. oh well, more to put on my healthcare insurance induced bankruptcy.

i guess i`ll take my lopressor and go back to sleep.

[Hannah Bell]

5. sorry to hear it, & sorry to make light of your troubles. i know it's not funny. the

article pissed me off because of its spin.

[earth mom]

7. I can see your point but the reason I loved the story is because I am sick

of the out of control consumerism in this country.

We all need to get back to basics to find out what's really important.

[Hannah Bell]

8. we don't need to be impoverished to get back to what's important,

unemployment destroys families & communities more often than it brings them together, contrary to myth.

i've heard this so often - the downturn is good because people will stop consuming so much & get back to what's important. it's bullshit, nothing personal, but i've never heard someone unemployed or in economic difficulty say it.

both ends of it are bullshit, too, because the consumerist ethos isn't the product of the sum of individual "choice" either, it's the product of choices made to maximize profit.

economic security, shorter hours distributed between more people, & more equal wages would do more to allow people to focus on what's important, but that's not in the cards.

& you might not have noticed how "watching tv" is slipped into the list of "doing more". i'll bet it's number 1. cause driving to launch the canoe costs money, & depressed people are physically inactive.

so do you like the story as much when it's labeled: "unemployed people watch more tv"?

[Vinnie From Indy]

9. lol!

Thanks for the chuckle! :)

Cheers Hannah Bell!

[earth mom]

6. I love this story!

Pink is my favorite color followed by green.

I think I will start looking on craigslist for my own pink or green canoe. O8)