Dining out is the first thing to go when money feels tight
Core finding
Restaurant meals are the first line Americans cross off a tight budget: 43% say dining out is the category they cut first when money runs short, a December 2025 Verasight survey finds.
Travel comes next, the first cut for about a quarter of Americans (24%), followed by outings with friends (12%). Clothing (7%), outings with family (6%), personal care (4%) and home goods (4%) are the first to go for far smaller shares.
Topline distribution
Dining out is the first thing to go when money feels tight.
When money feels tight, which category do you cut first?
n = 1,000 · Dec 3–8, 2025 · MoE ±3.2%
Methodology
Full methodology →| Mode | Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting |
|---|---|
| Population | US adults age 18+ |
| Field dates | Dec 3–8, 2025 |
| Base (unweighted) | 1,000 |
| Margin of error | ±3.2% |
| Module | tech_behavior |
| Sponsor | Verasight |
| Weight variable | weight |
| Weighting targets | age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status |
Sources
- reports.verasight.io/r/verasight-human-v-synthetic
When money feels tight, which category do you cut first?
Cite this question
Verasight Human/LLM Comparison Survey #2025-172, fielded December 3-8, 2025, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.2%.