世論 What Japan Thinks

With the economic gloom building, here is a timely look with MyVoice at economising in daily life.

Demographics

Over the first five days of January 2009 13,932 members of the MyVoice internet community successfully completed an online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 1% were in their teens, 14% in their twenties, 37% in their thirties, 30% in their forties, and 18% aged fifty or older.

I was saving money on most things last year, and this year will see further savings given the possibility of all overtime being stopped and having had the more immediate shock of getting a 20,000 yen gas bill for last month.

Of course, rather than economising I want more income (AdSense has died a death!), and to that end I have three new web site ideas in the pipeline and one renewal of an older property, but more of that in other posts!

Finally, before I forget, be sure to check out Nihon Hacks for how to save money in Japan.

Research results

Q1: How satisfying was 2008 for you? (Sample size=13,932)

Very satisifying	3.5%
Somewhat satisfying	46.6%
Somewhat dissatisfying	35.5%
Very dissatisfying	14.4%

Q2: Last year, how much did you manage to economise at home? (Sample size=13,932)

Economised a lot	11.5%
Economised a little	50.2%
Didn’t really economise much	33.9%
Didn’t economise at all	4.4%

Q3: Which aspects did you economise in? (Sample size=those who economised, multiple answer)

Eating out	42.4%
Foodstuffs	41.0%
Clothes	33.0%
Utilities	24.2%
Sweets, cakes	22.7%
Alcohol	21.2%
Travel	21.0%
Hobbies, pleasure, education	20.1%
Car running costs (parking, petrol, maintenance, etc)	18.5%
Hobby sundry items	17.1%
Entertainment expenses	17.0%
Lunch boxes, side dishes	16.4%
Books	15.7%
Delivery food	15.0%
Communication fees (fixed line phone, mobile, internet, etc)	14.1%
Transport fees	13.8%
Own pocket money	12.7%
Home electrical, electronic items	11.4%
CDs, DVDs, media contents downloads	11.1%
Daily items	10.1%
Furniture, interior	8.5%
Non-alcoholic drinks	8.4%
Newspapers, magazines	7.9%
Computers	5.0%
Insurance, medical fees	4.7%
Cigarettes	4.5%
Home maintenance	4.5%
Child-rearing costs	1.7%
Other	3.2%
No answer	13.7%

Q4: How did you economise in these items in Q3? (Sample size=those who economised, multiple answer)

Decreased number of times I purchased, used services	51.3%
Checked prices at various shops before buying cheapest	37.3%
Actively used discount coupons, point cards, etc	33.7%
Stopped buying, using services	27.4%
To avoid waste, only bought the minimum that I needed	19.2%
Bought in bulk for discounts	18.5%
Chose lower-grade, lower-price services, items	16.5%
Other	5.1%
No answer	14.7%

Q5: Which aspects will you appy yourself to economising in this year? (Sample size=13,932, multiple answer)

Eating out	41.8%
Foodstuffs	38.5%
Utilities	31.0%
Sweets, cakes	29.9%
Clothes	25.0%
Alcohol	21.4%
Communication fees (fixed line phone, mobile, internet, etc)	20.3%
Lunch boxes, side dishes	19.3%
Hobbies, pleasure, education	19.3%
Car running costs (parking, petrol, maintenance, etc)	17.7%
Hobby sundry items	17.7%
Entertainment expenses	16.3%
Delivery food	16.0%
Travel	14.9%
Transport fees	13.9%
Books	13.4%
CDs, DVDs, media contents downloads	11.0%
Daily items	10.4%
Own pocket money	10.3%
Home electrical, electronic items	10.1%
Non-alcoholic drinks	9.1%
Cigarettes	8.7%
Furniture, interior	8.0%
Newspapers, magazines	7.8%
Insurance, medical fees	5.5%
Computers	5.2%
Home maintenance	4.6%
Child-rearing costs	1.9%
Other	2.4%
Nothing in particular	12.9%
No answer	0.3%

Q6: Which aspects do you want to spend more money on this year? (Sample size=13,932, multiple answer)

Travel	16.6%
Hobbies, pleasure, education	13.5%
Child-rearing costs	7.3%
Clothes	6.0%
Home electrical, electronic items	5.2%
Computers	4.9%
Hobby sundry items	4.6%
Books	4.4%
Entertainment expenses	4.1%
Foodstuffs	3.9%
Furniture, interior	3.0%
Eating out	2.5%
Home maintenance	2.3%
CDs, DVDs, media contents downloads	2.0%
Daily items	1.9%
Own pocket money	1.5%
Insurance, medical fees	1.4%
Car running costs (parking, petrol, maintenance, etc)	1.3%
Sweets, cakes	1.2%
Alcohol	1.0%
Communication fees (fixed line phone, mobile, internet, etc)	0.5%
Transport fees	0.5%
Newspapers, magazines	0.5%
Delivery food	0.5%
Lunch boxes, side dishes	0.4%
Utilities	0.4%
Non-alcoholic drinks	0.3%
Cigarettes	0.2%
Other	1.2%
Nothing in particular	49.2%
No answer	0.4%