In an age when new gadgets keep popping up in stores, it's no surprise that consumers are spending like there's no tomorrow.
Cellular phones, DVD players, Playstation IIs and Palm Pilots have been flying off the shelves in a wave of consumerism this country has rarely before seen. And, when it comes to uncontrolled spending, you can be sure that college students face some serious problems.
Consumer spending was up 2.9 percent in the second quarter of 2000, on top of a 7.6 percent gain from the first, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis's (BEA) recent estimates. To add to the rise in consumerism, personal savings is at its lowest level since the BEA started keeping records.
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Low saving rates, such as this August's -0.2 percent, have dramatic implications on the economy as a whole.
"If savings are getting lower and lower, the amount of money devoted to future spending will decrease," said graduate student Bilegehan Karabay, teaching assistant to Economics Prof. Kenneth Elzinga. Thus, with depleted savings, our economy is far more likely to shrink in the future due to a lack of investment.
While growth in consumer purchases is not necessarily a bad thing - as it has been one of the forces behind the economy's recent success - the fact that people simply are not saving is problematic.
According to BEA's figures, the amount consumers are putting aside for future investments or retirement has been declining for the last 10 years. Americans seem to be making purchases left and right with little thought for the future.
This trend can have devastating consequences on the personal level as well.
"People are running up credit card debt on an average of over several thousand dollars," said Commerce Prof. Karin Bonding. "This debt has to be repaid at some point, and with the exorbitant rates that credit cards charge -- on average over 17 percent-- future planning can become nearly impossible."
Bonding teaches COMM 273: Personal Investment Analysis, a course that prepares fourth-year students to manage money after graduation.
Those who do not manage their money well face difficulties down the road. Dreams of purchasing a house, making a down payment on a car, or affording graduate school can become unrealistic.
Often, consumers without the ability to manage their money for the future fall into debt, and while credit cards can provide an attractive way to get some quick cash, the number of unpaid bills can be overwhelming.
Retirement planning can also be profoundly impacted when individuals fail to save.
"People have not yet come to realize that if they don't save for retirement, there won't be anything for them," said Bonding.
Social Security has never afforded its beneficiaries more than 30 percent of pre-retirement income, and individuals who did not save for their retirement must find other ways to sustain themselves.
For college students, retirement may seem like a very distant worry, but saving money should start as soon as possible.
Often, this means spending less on small things that add up.
Coire Maranzano, a third-year College student, had some serious problems his first two years with budgeting the money on his student ID.
With all intentions of using his Cavalier Advantage account to take care of needs such as the weekly load of laundry, Coire found himself, "swiping half of [his] allocated budget on the snack and drink machines."
One of the reasons why the debit accounts can be so hard to manage is that it is impossible to see a comprehensive list of the transactions that have been made.
As a consumer, it can be difficult to mentally tally your purchases and therefore difficult to determine where all of your money is going.
Financial autonomy is a huge step that many first-year students have to take. Without discipline for saving, students can fall into some serious problems. Elizabeth Huff, a first-year College student, has come up with a solution for herself.
She plans to budget a certain amount per month to use for daily expenses and leave the rest in her savings account to accumulate interest. While such budgeting is often difficult and requires serious discipline, it's a necessary step toward financial success in the future.
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