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November 10, 2021

COUNTRY Financial® Survey Finds Nine in Ten Americans Are Highly Concerned as Inflation Looms, Altering Spending Habits and Lifestyle Choices 

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A recent survey by COUNTRY Financial®, fielded by Ipsos, has revealed Americans are noticing increased prices due to inflation and anticipate altering their personal spending. According to the findings, Americans have seen a change in the price of many different goods and services across industries in the past three months. As a result, about nine in ten (88 percent) of Americans expressed a high level of concern for inflation, which is held across all age groups, racial and ethnic groups, and income levels.

As inflation rapidly affects everyday life, Americans are being forced to reckon with cutting back spending as the holiday season approaches, and moreover, postpone costly plans that have been in the making as the nation recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, about half of Americans (48 percent) say they will cut back on restaurant dining and take out, with an additional 30 percent of Americans noting they will skip upgrading their tech devices in favor for the ones they already have. Additionally, a substantial percentage of Americans (29 percent) claimed they will purchase less clothing, 20 percent have canceled or put off travel plans altogether and 13 percent plan to drive less. These various budget cuts are expected to continue well past the winter season as economists predict inflation will be here to stay in 2022.

View the entire findings from the COUNTRY Financial® Security Index.

 

Additional Survey Findings:

  • The majority of Americans have noticed higher prices on gasoline or travel (86%), groceries (80%), eating out at restaurants or take out (67%), and utilities (51%).
  • Although they are less likely to have purchased them in the past three months, when they do, Americans also notice a higher price in home renovations/repair (48%), home upgrades (47%), clothing/accessories (46%), new homes (42%), new cars (40%), home/auto insurance (32%), and rent (29%).
  • Approximately 85 percent of respondents noted hearing topics around inflation over the course of the past three months. Three in five say they have heard a lot about inflation (58%) and about one in four have heard something although they may not be sure what (27%), while 3% are not familiar with inflation.
  • Baby Boomers and Gen X are much more likely to have heard a lot about inflation (72% and 58%, respectively) than Millennials (49%) and Gen Z (37%).

Media contact

news@countryfinancial.com

COUNTRY Financial® is a family of affiliated companies (collectively, COUNTRY) located in Bloomington, IL. Learn more about who we are.

About the COUNTRY Financial Security Index®  

Since 2007, the COUNTRY Financial Security Index has measured Americans' sentiments of their personal financial security. The Index also delves deeper into individual personal finance topics to better inform Americans about the issues impacting their finances.  

The COUNTRY Financial Security Index was created by COUNTRY Financial and is compiled by Ipsos an independent research firm. Surveys were conducted using Ipsos' KnowledgePanel®, a national, probability-based panel designed to be representative of the general population and includes responses from approximately 1,330 U.S. adults for national surveys. The margin of sampling error for a survey based on this many interviews is approximately +/- 3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.  

About Ipsos

Ipsos is the world's third largest market research company, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people.

Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions.

Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1st, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).