Poll: U.S. consumers are cutting back

PRINCETON, N.J., May 5 (UPI) -- Rising costs are pressuring most U.S. citizens to spend less, a Gallup poll says.

Predictably, people earning less are cutting back more. Seven of 10 making under $35,000 per year said they have cut back, and half of those making $35,000 to $75,000 are doing the same.

The survey of 1,008 adults was released Monday.

Only about a third of people making more than $75,000 a year said they were curbing their spending habits.

The rising cost of gasoline was cited as the main reason for reduced spending.

Thirty-six percent of those polled were cutting back on gas spending, 26 percent on vacation and travel and 25 percent on on food.

When subdivided by income, spending priorities changed. People in lower income brackets indicated they were cutting back on gas, groceries and travel, while those making $75,000 a year and above indicated they would first cut back on eating out, entertainment and travel.

The poll, conducted April 25-27, carried a margin of error of plus and minus three percent, Gallup said.