People are reducing spending on heating and electricity and also staying at home more, wrties CARL O'BRIEN
HOW HAS the recession affected your lifestyle?
For many, it’s been the most jolting of experiences, with significant numbers cutting back on essentials such as electricity and home-heating.
At least one-third of people have already cut back on electricity and home-heating, while large numbers are also reducing spending on mobile phones (27 per cent) or newspapers (29 per cent) or personal care (27 per cent) or driving a car (19 per cent).
In contrast, people are trying to hold off cutting health-related spending such as on medicine if at all possible. A total of 11 per cent have cut back on medicines – the equivalent of almost 370,000 people; 10 per cent have reduced spending on health insurance; and 16 per cent are spending less on GP visits.
It may seem frivolous in comparison, but home entertainment is an important issue for most people. In fact, it’s one of the categories of spending people are least likely to be cutting back on. Some 77 per cent say they have not reduced spending on satellite or digital TV over the past year; and another 73 per cent say they have no plans to reduce this spending over the next year.
CLASS DIVIDE
What is striking is how people from higher- and lower-income groups are cutting back on their spending at the same rate.
Even for items such as health insurance, medicines or GP visits, lower- and higher-income groups are adjusting their spending in almost exactly the same way.
For example, under the heading of health insurance, 10 per cent of higher income ABC1s say they will reduce spending, the same figure as those from the lower income C2DE group. The same goes for essentials such as driving a car, electricity and home-heating.
YOUNGER PEOPLE
Those most likely to be cutting back on spending are younger people.
Those in the 25-34 age group are consistently the most likely to be cutting back on heating (40 per cent), electricity (38 per cent), medicines (15 per cent), health insurance (12 per cent), dental visits and buying presents for family or friends (43 per cent).
Given their active social lives, they are also much more likely to be reducing spending on mobile phone use and taxis.
The biggest difference between the sexes is, without surprise, reducing spending on “personal care”. A total of 37 per cent of women are cutting back, compared to 16 per cent of men.
SOCIAL LIFE
The recession is also impacting heavily on people’s social lives.
People are much more likely to be entertaining at home compared to a year ago (23 per cent).
They are much less likely to be eating out (55 per cent), visiting the pub (48 per cent) or going on family trips involving expenditure (39 per cent).
Again, it is young people who are most likely to be cutting their spending in these areas. For example, almost 70 per cent of those in the 25-34 age group
have cut back on eating out and 65 per cent in the same groups are visiting the pub less frequently.
GROCERIES
The thing people are keen to avoid cutting back on the most is their grocery shopping.
A total of 41 per cent say they will avoid reducing spending on groceries for as long as possible.
Despite the fact that many have cut back on heating and health insurance already, more than a third of people said they would avoid cutting back on these items for as long as possible.
Most people were much quicker to be willing to give up spending on mobile phone use, running a car or taking a holiday abroad.
SUPPORT
When it comes to seeking support in these difficult times, people are looking towards their family and friends.
Just over half turn to their partner or spouse for emotional reassurance or comfort, while many also turn to female family and friends (42 per cent) or male family and friends (35 per cent).
Much smaller numbers turn to the Catholic Church (14 per cent). Not surprisingly, there are marked differences between the age groups. For example, some 32 per cent of over-65s turn to the church, compared to just 4 per cent of those aged 18-34.
A total of 6 per cent said they had nowhere or no one to turn to. Men (8 per cent) were twice as likely as women (4 per cent) to feel they were on their own.
THE IRISH TIMESIRELAND TODAY
This survey in the Republic of Ireland was conducted exclusively on behalf of The Irish Timesby Behaviour & Attitudes, among a national quota sample of 1,004 Irish adults, in strict accordance with Aimro (Association of Irish Market Research Organisations) and Esomar (European Society for Opinion and Market Research) guidelines.
Fieldwork was conducted in-home at 100 different locations, with the sample controlled by region, age, working status and socio-economic status.
The survey findings are accurate to within approximately plus or minus three percentage points. Interviewing was conducted between October 12th and 26th , 2009.