Survey: Many Americans are limiting their spending

A new survey suggests that two out of three Americans are holding back on consumer spending, and that's keeping the economy chugging uphill, just as the holiday season approaches.

The report by Bankrate.com surveyed 1,007 Americans in the continental United States.  Bankrate.com's Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride says those in the 30 to 49 age group are most likely to limit monthly spending.

"This is the group that tends to have the mortgage payments, the car payments, they are raising kids," McBride said.

Those who were surveyed cited stagnant income growth as the prevailing reason for not spending.

"It's the single, biggest reason why people are holding back on their spending each month, and it's why we also have their perpetually slow growth economy," McBride said. He added that consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of the economy.

The other big reason consumers are more restrained is the need to save more, along with lingering fears about the economy.  According to McBride, "worries about the economy have dissipated somewhat over the past year."

According to the survey, senior citizens are the most likely to respond about their stagnant income as the main reason for not spending.

While spending seems to be kept under the lid at the moment, a more positive feeling about financial security continues to rise. Bankrate's Financial Security Index was up for the second month in a row to 101, the highest reading for the index since June of 2014.  According to Bankrate, readings above 100 indicate improved financial security year over year. The index shows Americans report improvement in four of the five components of the index in the past year, job security, comfort level with debt, net worth and overall financial situation. Only the comfort level with savings is down in the past year or so.

The survey was done for Bankrate by Princeton Survey Research Associates.  It can be viewed as a whole at