How Higher Electric Bills Are Changing the Way Americans Spend

Rising energy costs are taking a toll on pocketbooks, forcing some Americans to either cut back on grocery purchases or reduce heating or air conditioning to try to save money. This is what a recent survey found about how Americans are coping with the increased energy costs, as well as who they are blaming.

Surging Energy Prices Impacting Spending in Other Areas

A new Consumer Reports survey demonstrates how Americans are trying to make up for the rising cost of electricity by cutting back in other ways. The survey found that approximately 20% of Americans said that they have cut back on groceries or considered purchasing less expensive food in order to afford soaring electric bills. Likewise, roughly 1 in 4 people surveyed said that they have either reduced their heating or air conditioning to uncomfortable levels or thought about doing so.

Nearly every American is feeling the pinch in some way. As the survey demonstrates, many households are being forced to cut back on other types of nonessential spending to afford electricity costs. This includes a sharp reduction in eating out and traveling.

The survey of over 2,000 adults found that 81% of respondents who have lived in the same home for three years or more reported that their electricity bills have gone up during this period. Over a quarter of the respondents reported electric bill increases of 20% to 49% during this time.