Americans spent three times more money in September than they did in August, even though their incomes barely budged. They financed their spending binges by saving at the lowest level since the start of the Great Recession. Consumer spending rose 0.6% last month, the Commerce Department reported this morning. The gain was driven by a big rise in purchases of durable goods, such as autos. Consumers earned only 0.1% more after their income fell by the same amount in August. And after adjusting for inflation, their after-tax income fell 0.1% last month—the third straight monthly decline. As a result, they saved less. The savings rate fell to 3.6%, the lowest level since December 2007. Expectations were high after the government reported Thursday that consumer spending helped fuel annual growth of 2.5% in the July-September quarter, the best quarterly expansion in a year. Read more about today’s report from The Associated Press here.
Today’s poll question: Have you been spending more since the end of August?
