New York Fed: Have U.S. Consumers Become more Frugal?

Yes.

Taken together, the mortgage and non-mortgage series reported here indicate a change in consumer behavior other than delinquency and default. While borrowing contributed an annual average of about $330 billion to consumers’ cash flow between 2000 and 2007, by 2009 consumers reduced their cash flow by $150 billion to reduce these debts. This represents a $500 billion change in cash flow in just two years.

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Posted in * Economics, Politics, Consumer/consumer spending, Economy, Personal Finance, The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007--