Americans Preparing for a Recession are Increasing Savings and Cutting Spending

A recent Morning Consult survey found that 41 percent of U.S. adults are actively preparing for an economic downturn by saving and decreasing spending. Many are prepping for a recession by stockpiling food, buying a generator, or gardening more to grow their own food.

Higher income households were more likely to have already taken steps in preparation for an economic downturn with 52 percent of those with household incomes over $100,000 per year having taken steps to equip themselves for a recession. 48 percent of adults in households earning less than $50,000 annually said they haven’t prepared, but wish they could.

Adults who wish they could prepare focused more on saving money and less on cutting back spending, as only 10 percent of those wishing they could prepare would pursue cutting back compared to 39 percent of those who have already taken steps. Other types of preparation recorded in the survey included changing investment portfolios, investing more in assets, and paying down debt.

Stockpiling was also a common response; a baby boomer in a household earning less than $50,000 annually said he wished he could “stockpile nonperishable food items as well as essential items in the event of shortages and supply issues.”

Other responses conveyed overall savings, such as a millennial male in a household earning over $100,000 annually who “stopped buying desserts.” Also, a baby boomer in a middle-income household said they were “committed to a tight budget, spending money only on what’s absolutely needed. No major purchases, nothing frivolous.”