Americans bemoan lack of financial willpower – but still planning swell vacations

The recession ended barely two years ago, but many Americans are back to their spendthrift ways. According to a survey by the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., about three-quarters of 1,000 adults over 25 said the pace of society makes it harder for them to focus on achieving their long-term goals, including those related to their finances. Financial goals are the most common goals set, and 47% said they needed more help sticking to their financial goals. Only exercise and diet ranked higher as problem areas for self-control. Among the top financial goals are to have a comfortable retirement and to maintain current standards of living. If you're looking for one reason Americans can't seem to stick to their financial plans, here's one possibility: they spend too much. Indeed, travel insurer Mondial Assistance USA surveyed another 1,000 citizens about their summer vacation plans. The insurer reckons that Americans will spend $86.4 billion on summer vacations this year, nearly $16 billion more than they did in 2010. Those vacationers aren't soldering shut their change purses while on holiday, either. Americans not only are planning to travel more this year, they're also planning to spend more while they're taking time off. The average family will spend about $1,704 this year, up about 9% from the $1,567 they spent last year. I guess you can't be overly critical. Even death takes a holiday.