Consumers are spending, but on used goods, debt payments

By John Waggoner, USA TODAY

In this article, Waggoner expressed how consumers are currently dealing with the recession. It is apparent that people today are being more frugal with their hard earned money as they should be. Consumers would love to be able to stop buying and save our money; however, that is not feasible with our lifestyles today. People obviously have to continue to buy the necessities for ourselves and those people with families have to buy for their family's needs. This recession has had an impact on consumers they are realizing it is smarter to buy used rather than new in order to help their bank accounts. They are not only watching their spending, they are also repaying their debt. They are making it a point to get a handle on what they owe now rather than putting it off as future duties. According to Waggoner, "Money that might otherwise go to local restaurants or department stores is also being used to pay down debt. Consumer borrowing fell 2% in the first quarter, according to data released last week by the Federal Reserve. Resolving credit fell at a 6.5.% annual rate.  Repaying debt is a relatively simple way to increase disposable income and shore up finances. Overall, Waggoner's article provides a great deal of wisdom on how to get a handle on things during this recession and we can learn a lot from it.