Myron Murray has exchanged nights sipping expensive cocktails in bars and restaurants for get-togethers with friends at home. He eats out less, saves more and thinks much harder about what he buys.
The 34-year-old manager of an Annapolis Sam's Club isn't afraid of losing his job and hasn't seen a drop in his income. But the recession has prompted Murray to be more responsible about his money - a change that could last a lifetime for him and other consumers.
"I think I need to plan a little better now for the future," Murray said. "The current economy caught a lot of people by surprise. If we build better habits now it won't shock a lot of people if [a downturn] happens again."
The past decade was one of splurging, as easy access to credit cards and home equity loans enabled Americans to live more lavishly than previous generations. Pop culture trends also had an impact, with shows such as Sex and the City and Keeping Up With the Kardashians depicting lifestyles in which Jimmy Choo shoes and Louis Vuitton bags were within every girl's reach, sociologists say.
But as the economy has come crashing down, some predict a permanent cultural shift in spending habits. Some anthropologists and economists say more consumers will be like Murray and spend more practically. They'll buy smaller houses, eat out less and save for big purchases.
Many consumers are being forced into these changes as they watch the value of their homes plummet or find themselves swimming in unmanageable debt. But for others it's a moral shift as they realize that all that buying doesn't add much to their lives beyond a closet full of clothes.
"People are at that higher level where they're saying something is wrong with the way we're spending and it has got to change," said Robbie Blinkoff, co-founder and principal anthropologist at Context-Based Research Group. In conjunction with the Carton Donofrio Partners Inc. advertising and marketing firm, it recently surveyed people about the economy's impact on their spending.
The survey, in five cities including Baltimore, found that a new "grounded" consumer is emerging. These consumers are realizing that life is not defined by what they buy and that credit isn't a true measure of their financial worth. They're moving to limit the amount of "stuff" in their lives, the survey found. And they're learning to live within their means.
