Financial Good Intentions (for What They're Worth)

How seriously should we take it when consumers vow to clean up their financial act? A recent Experian/Gallup survey gives reason to think the right answer is “not very.” Seventy-three percent of respondents said it’s at least somewhat likely they’ll reduce their overall level of debt in 2008; 61 percent said it’s likely they will reduce their level of credit-card debt. This would suggest a sizable majority of people will cut back on their spending, no? However, when the same poll asked people whether they’ll “cut back on your spending for entertainment items” — a discretionary category if ever there was one — people were split evenly between those saying they will and those saying they won’t (49 percent each, with 2 percent undecided).