Poll: Consumer Spending Confidence on the Rise

According to a survey by Rasmussen Reports, the Discover U.S. Spending Monitor rose in September due to consumers worrying less about unexpected expenses or loss of income and having extra money after paying off debts. The Monitor, a monthly survey of nearly 15,000 adult consumers, rose from 94.8 to 95.9 in just one month, from August to September. Also, spending confidence is higher since reaching its low point in mid-August; each week since then, the Monitor has risen and it now is five points higher than it was at that low-point. The Monitor went as high as 97 the week of September 26th.

Almost 54 percent of American consumers plan to spend as much money next month as they did the previous month. That is the biggest percentage since polling began in May, and is also up 9 points since then. However, since May the percentage of consumers expecting to spend more money next month than last has deceased by 28 percent.

Part of the reason consumers are maintaining their level of spending is that they don't foresee any extra expenses or loss of income in the next month. Only 35 percent of consumers expect these kinds of issues to arise, down 3 percent since August, and lower than any month since the Monitor began its analysis. People who are married and have children showed the largest decrease in the added expenses category going from 46 to 42 percent between August and September.

Another reason survey respondents have spending confidence is that they are spending less on groceries, gas, bills, and other household expenses. Meanwhile, American consumers are maintaining spending on things like travel, entertainment, and education. There was a 5 percent increase in survey participants who say they will maintain discretionary spending between August and September. There was also a 2 percent increase in those who expect to maintain spending on household improvements, and a 1 percent increase in those who will put the same amount of money into savings.

The number of consumers with extra money left over after paying bills is at 52 percent and has steadily increased every month since June. Perhaps then it should come as no surprise that consumers considers their finances to be in better condition than the U.S. economy. 41 percent of survey respondents consider consider their own finances to be good or excellent, and just 19 percent think their finances are poor. Only 32 percent of the same respondents, though, rated the country's economy as being good or excellent, while 57 percent rated the economy as fair or poor.

The Monitor has a margin of error of 1 percent.

Source: "Discover U.S. Spending Monitor rises slightly in September", Rasmussen Reports