Welcome to the new normal — Frugal is the new black.
Fifty-four percent of those receiving refunds intend to pay off credit card, utility, housing and other bills, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll. That compares with 35 percent who said the same thing a year ago. Only 5 percent, about the same as a year ago, plan a shopping spree.
Although 38 percent plan to spend at least part of it, the spending will be on basic needs: 17 percent on food and clothing. It was 7 percent a year ago.
By the way, 8 percent of those who owe taxes said they were very likely or somewhat likely to use a credit card to pay their tax bill.
More:
- 31 percent of those receiving refunds said they will use at least part of the money to pay credit card bills, compared with 17 percent a year ago.
- 19 percent said they will use their refunds to pay utility bills, compared with 10 percent a year ago.
- 17 percent said they will use their refunds for rent or mortgage payments, compared with 7 percent a year ago.
- 11 percent of those receiving refunds said they would use them to go on vacation, a slight increase from a year ago.
- 5 percent said they planned to use their refund for a down payment on a car, also a slight increase.
- 4 percent said they would use their refunds to buy stocks or bonds, about the same as a year ago.
See the full AP story here.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get the 11-page PDF of the complete results from the AP GfK poll.
