OPB News · Northwest Residents Have Adjusted Their Personal Spending For Good

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Northwest Residents Have Adjusted Their Personal Spending For Good

Anna King | March 11, 2010 | Washington, D.

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Sixty-four percent of people in the Northwest say they feel they're worse off financially than they were a year and a half ago. And many say the economy has permanently changed their spending habits. Those are two of the findings in a poll that is a collaboration of Northwest public radio stations, the Northwest Health Foundation and the polling firm Davis, Hibbitts, and Midghall. Correspondent Anna King profiles one Northwest family that's been transformed by the recession.

Patricia and Jeff Larson recently bought a family camper trailer, but they are clipping coupons. A recent public radio poll says many Northwest residents are finding many little ways to save, while still buying more durable goods.

Patricia and Jeff Larson are a young, working couple living in rural Pierce County near Tacoma, Washington. They both have jobs now, but they've been through some hard times. In 2007, just after the birth of their son, Jeff lost his job managing nearly 50 people in a large RV repair shop. Patricia became the breadwinner. And they, like many families, had to start cutting back their lifestyle immediately.Patricia Larson: “I think the first thing to go was my acrylic nails! Going to get my hair done and stuff that kind of stuff. Eating out less. And now if we eat out we eat out with coupons.”Patricia and Jeff's story aligns closely with what many Northwest families are doing. That's according to pollster Adam Davis. He says the public radio survey of 12-hundred people across the Northwest, found 68 percent have cut back their eating out. And that's not all …Adam Davis: “At least 50 percent of the respondents are driving less, cutting back on vacation and personal travel, doing more bargain shopping and cutting back on entertainment. You can really see how life is being affected by the economy.”Even as families like the Larsons cut back, many are still spending on larger, more lasting goods. Our poll shows that in the last 12 months, 19 percent of people bought a personal computer, 12 percent bought an iPhone or Blackberry, and 10 percent bought a big screen TV. The Larsons just hauled home a new family camper trailer.Patricia Larson: “We have a queen bed up in the front, which is kind of why we bought this trailer. So we have a little separation from the kids. And how long is the trailer honey?”Jeff Larson: “The trailer is approximately 30 feet.” Sarah Tinkler: “It's interesting that they bought something that would give them an experience, as opposed to just the temporary rush of buying something new.”That's Sarah Tinkler. She's a professor of economics at Portland State University. She specializes in family spending and the role of women in the economy. Tinkler says it's not a bit surprising to her that Patricia and Jeff Larson bought a camper after Jeff got a new job, but are still clipping coupons for the grocery store.Sarah Tinkler: “And I think that's probably what people are trying to do, to focus on things that are recession proof like the enjoyment we take in our own families … rather than is something that just dissipates the minute you buy it. You're bored, you've got new shoes, and then they are just your old shoes after a while.”Tinkler says it's important to remember that in this economy, it's the poorest that have suffered the most. She says some of the hardest hit are men without bachelor's degrees in the fields of manufacturing and construction. In our poll, 38 percent of people don't think they are “hanging in there” -- meaning their earnings aren't exceeding their expenses.Patricia and Jeff Larson know they aren't completely safe from this economy. Both of their jobs are in the flagging construction industry. And even their new prized camper was repossessed from a struggling family in California. Patricia says that's something she thought about as they drove it home.Patricia Larson: “It was somebody else's misfortune that we got to get this trailer.”The couple says the economy has changed way they will spend forever. In fact, our poll shows that 71 percent of people in the Northwest agree that their spending and saving habits will be permanently changed because of the economy.Patricia and Jeff say for the last three years they've been afraid to spend money on anything. But now both employed, they are trying their best to continue with life.Patricia Larson: “It seems like you can only put life on hold for so long, we just try to prepare as much as we can and we still just want to do the things that we want to do.”They've recently built a hen house and a garden to save more money on groceries. And they have big plans for that family camper – Patricia says she's expecting their second child in August.I'm Anna King in Pierce County, Washington.