Does Saving Make You Happy? The Answer Might Surprise You (infographic)

With the world going through a historic economic crunch, more people than ever are looking to save a few bucks. Based on a survey of 2,000 Americans conducted by Citizens Bank, 61% of consumers will consider how long a product will last before buying it, and anything that costs over $1,762 is seen as a big purchase.

While it’s getting harder than ever to save due to rising costs of living, 34% of Americans still think that they’re savers. This basically means that they will wait until a product is available on sale before buying it, or they will only spend money on absolute necessities. However, are these savers truly happier than the 56% of Americans who consider themselves spenders?

It turns out that spenders were actually happier in various walks of life according to this survey. For example, 78% of spenders were happy in their relationships compared to 63% of savers. An even bigger gap was seen in work lives, with 78% of spenders reporting a high level of happiness and just 57% of savers saying the same. Oddly enough, more spenders were happy with their finances than savers, or 73% and 56% respectively.

Personal lives were seemingly unaffected by saving or spending, with 77% of spenders and 71% of savers saying that they were happy with them. Spenders also see themselves as better gift givers, with 82% taking pride in their gift giving and just 66% of savers saying the same.

That said, savers are often compelled to cut costs due to low income. Being forced to spend less may be leading them to lower levels of life satisfaction, and it’s generally easier to be happy if you can spend as much as you like without worrying about the future. Also, spenders might regret their habits later on, since they use up 38% of their earnings on miscellaneous purchases compared to 29% for savers.

Budgeting can be a great way to make your money last longer, so it’s not surprising that 37% of survey respondents create budgets on a weekly basis, with 9% going so far as to create daily budgets. 39% of shoppers are now using buy now pay later options to buy things that they can’t currently afford, so there is a clear shift in purchasing behavior that could impact the wider ecommerce industry down the line.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World