Utica, NY (SPECIAL) –

72% of Adults Can Imagine Becoming Poor But Half Expect Their Financial Situation to Improve

Utica, NY (SPECIAL) – Financial recovery may be slow after the economic meltdown, but there is hope this holiday season according to a new Zogby Interactive poll*. Seventy two percent of adults say they either already consider themselves poor (20%) or can imagine becoming poor (52%), yet Americans can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Thirty-three percent of Americans expect their financial situation to improve a year from now and that figure jumps as we look to the future.  Fifty percent of Americans believe their personal financial situation will be better off five years from now, 18% think their situation will be about the same, and 20% believe they will be worse off financially five years from now.

John Zogby’s The Way We’ll Be highlights traits of generational clusters developed from years of polling. The youngest of the generational groups studied, First GlobalsTM (born 1979-1990) and the next oldest, Nikes (born 1965-1978), currently worry the most about having enough money. Fifty-one percent of First GlobalsTM and 50% of Nike’s say they worry either all of the time or most of the time about having enough money compared to their older counterparts; 47% of Woodstockers (born 1946-1964) worry and 32% of Privates (born 1926-1945) worry all or most of the time about having enough money.

While they worry about having enough money, younger generations are most optimistic about their financial future, with 69% of First GlobalsTM and 60% of Nikes saying they expect to be better off financially five years from now.

In spite of worry over their personal financial situation, 81% of Americans who participated in our October 23 – 26 poll** still plan to shop for gifts this holiday season and 40% will spend $500 or more on gifts this year. Initial reports, including those from ShopperTrak RCT Corporation, suggest Americans turned up for Black Friday shopping but were cautious with spending. With just under four shopping weeks left retailers are anxious to see how much consumers spend and what they spend it on.