Four-Fifths Of European Net Users Have Cut Their Spending In The Past Year

With the gloomy state of the economy dominating the headlines, we asked 14,230 European Net users about their expectations for the economy and their personal finances. Nearly three-fifths expect their national economy to deteriorate, and 42% expect their personal finances to worsen. Their biggest worries are rising costs, the ability to pay their bills, and the state of their pensions. As a result, most have cut their spending — but mainly on luxuries so far. About half of European Net users say that they changed their spending by shopping around for cheaper goods, and nearly a quarter expect to save more in 2009.