Middle-class families are preparing to extend their belt-tightening ways into the holiday shopping season, continuing a long-term trend that has come into play during the current economic downturn.

During the past three holiday seasons, the First Command Financial Behaviors Index® has pointed to leaner spending. Last year three out of four middle-class families said they were cutting back in some way on holiday spending. And 71 percent said they planned to cut back by changing their gift-giving behaviors.

Clearly belt-tightening financial behaviors are becoming part of the fabric of our holiday celebrations. Want some ideas for how to join in this new American tradition? Here are the top 10 ways middle-class Americans said they were going to cut back during the 2010 holiday shopping season:

  1. Spend less on gifts

  2. Set a maximum amount on gifts

  3. Give gifts to fewer people

  4. Give fewer gifts per person

  5. Buy gifts from discount stories

  6. Stay closer to home (reduce travel)

  7. Spending less on decorations

  8. Spend less on food

  9. Make gifts yourself

10. Re-use wrapping paper or use alternative wrapping paper

First Command Financial Services and its subsidiaries, including First Command Bank and First Command Financial Planning, assist American families in their efforts to build wealth, reduce debt and pursue their lifetime financial goals and dreams—focusing on consumer behavior as the first and most powerful determinant of results. Through knowledgeable advice and coaching of the financial behaviors conducive to success, First Command Financial Advisors have built trustworthy, lasting relationships with hundreds of thousands of client families since 1958. Compiled by Sentient Decision Science, Inc., the First Command Financial Behaviors Index® assesses trends among the American public’s financial behaviors, attitudes and intentions through a monthly survey of approximately 1,000 U.S. consumers aged 25 to 70 with annual household incomes of at least $50,000. Results are reported quarterly. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent with a 95 percent level of confidence. www.firstcommand.com/research Sentient Decision Science was commissioned by First Command to compile the Financial Behaviors Index®. SDS is a behavioral science and consumer psychology consulting firm with special vertical expertise within the financial services industry. SDS specializes in advanced research methods and statistical analysis of behavioral and attitudinal data. First Command Financial Services, Inc., is the parent of First Command Financial Planning, Inc. (Member SIPC, FINRA), First Command Insurance Services, Inc. and First Command Bank. Financial planning services and investment products, including securities, are offered by First Command Financial Planning, Inc. Insurance products and services are offered by First Command Insurance Services, Inc. in all states except Montana, where as required by law, insurance products and services are offered by First Command Financial Services, Inc. (a separate Montana domestic corporation). Banking products and services are offered by First Command Bank. Securities products are not FDIC insured, have no bank guarantee and may lose value. A financial plan, by itself, cannot assure that retirement or other financial goals will be met. In Europe, investment and insurance products and services are offered through First Command Europe Limited. First Command Europe Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of First Command Financial Services, Inc. and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Certain products and services offered in the United States may not be available through First Command Europe Limited.