More Thrift Is A Gift

When economists found more frugality,
They hoped it was no abnormality,
As the habit of saving
Is useful in paving
The road to financial reality.

Countering the notion that more US consumer spending is unambiguously good for the economy, The Wall Street Journal's Real-Time Economics blog asserts: "For the U.S. recovery to last, savings are just as important as spending." RTE has been hopefully following a recent development in the data on incomes, spending and saving, whereby, for the last three months, rising incomes have not led to rising spending. The 5% savings rate of the last two years has been holding fairly steady, in contrast to the 3.1% average savings rate of the previous ten go-go years. That's a good thing because, as RTE notes: "It’s been long known that baby boomers need to save more now to have spending money during their retirements–an imperative that may increase if social security benefits are altered."

For those looking to boost their own personal savings rate, the Marketplace Money website is a good place for information and advice.