How Payment Methods Influence Consumer Spending Habits

 Posted on September 14, 2013 in Chapter 7

Americans say that they are spending less money on extras like restaurants, bar tabs and the like compared to 2012.  That is according to a survey conducted by the consumer research team Mintel.  They surveyed Americans about consumer spending habits for thirteen different categories.  The only two categories that consumers admitted to spending more on were groceries and household care items.

This might not be the case according to consumer spending data.  That research has shown that spending has increased for several of the categories surveyed by Mintel by as much as five percent.  This discrepancy could be caused by a small percentage of consumers who have spent more money on luxury and big ticket items.

It could also be caused by the confusion resulting from having so many ways to pay for things.  These days, each consumer has access to multiple lines of credit and multiple choices for paying for items.  There are credit cards, debit cards, pre-loaded cards, cash, checks and many others which can result in a lot of spread out debt.  While it is normally good to have many options, there is one case that it may be better to have only one option.

If you are trying to spend less and save more, having just one account can result in fewer bills to pay.  That is according to a study that was published in the Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes journal.

The study was set up to include over 90 people.  Half of the people were given only one account with a set amount of money to do some online shopping.  The other half was given the same set amount distributed over multiple accounts.  Overall, those people with multiple accounts ended up spending 10 percent more than those with only one account.

It seems that over more accounts, people are able to rationalize their purchases.  If a misperception of your debt has led you to problems with debt collectors, consider filing for bankruptcy.  Contact an experienced bankruptcy attorney in San Antonio who can help you see if bankruptcy is right for you.