Active Americans Tighten Spending But Still Plan Vacation

Submitted by Leisure Trends Group Boulder, Colorado

Leisure Trends asked Active Americans* about their spending plans in the upcoming months. Close to 50% of Active Americans plan to spend less on sports related gear, clothing and equipment, while only 1.6% plan to spend more. The rest (48.2%) plan to spend the same amount.

Many people plan to buy what they “need” not what they “want.” Even those who are not feeling the crunch yet are being careful with their spending, just in case. This is what Most Active Americans had to say about spending and the economy:

“The economic crisis' personal effect on me is non-existent, but I recognize that that could change quickly so have gone into a money-conserving mode.”

“I would like to take advantage of the lower investment rates and put my money toward that, so we will be spending less on gear as we have plenty and will focus on diversifying our investments.”

“I am not buying anything at this time that is not a necessity. Christmas this year will be the family getting together for dinner and conversation and that is it. No shopping sprees.”

“I haven't felt the crunch yet but I'll watch my spending in all areas. It's a time to be careful as we don't know what lies ahead for our economy.”

“Usually I upgrade at least one or two components of my alpine ski equipment, but won't do it this year because prices are so high.”

“I will shop sales more often. But I will still look for quality. Shoes for my boys will be quality due to prevention of sports injury.”

“We are a retired couple. The value of a lot of our retirement savings has decreased proportionate to the stock market. This greatly affects our discretionary spending, thus we will decrease our traveling a great deal.”

“Just cutting back overall, including sports equipment. Every purchase will be evaluated more closely and will search harder for best price.”

“Even though gas has come down the rest of the economy is a wreck. I will spend less but plan to try and get more bang for my hard earned dollar. It will be interesting to see if retailers come up with a better sales pitch this season.”

Travel plans should fare better. Over two in five Active Americans do not plan to change their travel this winter, but one in five are expecting to do something less expensive than originally planned. 7.7% are really feeling the crunch and will cancel their leisure-travel plans. Over a quarter have no travel plans, yet, this winter.

“Airfare and lift tickets are off the hook. I don't know how anyone can still afford to do winter sports anymore. Traveling by air is a hassle, between the airport security and the mindless bag charges. If I go anywhere it will most likely be by car.”“We are looking into staycations, maybe not go so far and enjoy some local attractions instead.”