Americans Doing More, Buying Less, a Poll Finds
By Damien Cave
Published: January 2, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/business/economy/03experience.html?th&emc=th
excerpt
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.
The Department of Labor's time-use surveys show a similar trend:
compared with 2005, Americans spent less time in 2008 buying goods
and services and more time cooking or taking part in "organizational,
civic and religious activities.".........
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Elan Shapiro
Sustainable Living Associates
Frog's Way B&B
211 Rachel Carson Way
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-275-0249 607-592-8402 Cell
"Be the change we want to see in the world"
Mohandas Gandhi
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