It took a recession for Gen X and Y to start saving. Now will it stick?

Being in my 30s, I'm one of those Gen X-ers older people look down their nose on for my flashy spending, addiction to bling and Starbucks lattes, and preference for credit card over savings account. I'm actually not a coffee drinker and I prefer planting flowers to purchasing flashy bling, but people my age and younger are becoming more like their elders than ever. It may have taken a Great Recession to wean us off the credit cards, but a USA Today/Gallup poll states that people in their 20s and 30s are scrimping and saving like those who lived through the Great Depression. And twentysomethings are more likely to be doing it than anyone else.

While only 32 percent of all Americans are saving more because of the recession, 44 percent of people ages 18 to 29 were cutting back. Another survey from the Conference Board about holiday spending found that while the average American was going to cut back on holiday spending by 11 percent, youngsters ages 25 to 34 are cutting their gift budget by 19 percent.