A majority of Americans say they are now spending more on groceries.
Fifty-five percent in the U.S. say they spend more on groceries, the area in which Americans say they spend the most, according to a new Gallup poll.
In addition, Americans were spending more on utilities (45 percent-42 percent), healthcare (43 percent-41 percent) and cable or satellite (32 percent-30 percent) in the beginning of 2015 compared to the middle of 2014.
Overall, Americans are spending the most on the things they need, but not the things they want, as they continue to spend less and less on discretionary purchases.
In the beginning of 2015, Americans’ net spending was negative for discretionary purchases: -7 percent for leisure activities, -9 percent for clothing, -13 percent for consumer electronics, -18 percent for dining out and -20 percent for travel.
“As the summer travel season begins, it will be interesting to see whether American consumers report spending more on gas and whether they say they are spending more on travel and leisure activities,” Gallup said.
The random telephone poll of roughly 1,500 U.S. adults was conducted Feb. 23-March 3 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
