Consumers cut back on small pleasures

Jason Jepson works for a chi-chi yacht dealer in Newport Beach, Calif., but he’s so worried about the economy he stopped buying $1.79 PowerBars at his gym.

Richmond, Va., legal secretary Angela Harris is passing up her beloved $3.46 Iced Mocha Latte at Starbucks.


William Muckelroy II, a research director from Eagle, Idaho, now carries a bottle of tap water instead of buying $1.29 bottles of Evian at Walgreens (WAG).

Such small luxuries seemed almost necessities in happier economic times. But no more for lots of folks, including those and other USA TODAY readers who described how they’ve changed their habits.

The murky financial outlook and recession fears are factors. Another driver: fear of being out of step with a cultural mind-set that increasingly says less is more. If your best friend and next-door neighbors are cutting back on little luxuries, shouldn’t you be, too?

USA Today