Forty-nine percent of Americans say it is a good time to buy things, down slightly from 54 percent at this time in 1998 and 1999 alike, and eight points below the record high of 57 percent last January. Rising energy prices may be a reason for the slide in this indicator of conumer sentiment.
     But other indicators are stronger: Seventy-seven percent of Americans rate the overall economy positively, three points from the record high in nearly 15 years of weekly ABCNEWS/Money magazine polls. And 66 percent say their own finances are in good shape, four points from the record.
    

Responding Positively
	Today	11/21/99	11/22/98	11/23/97
National Economy	77%	71%	71%	58%
Personal Finances	66%	66%	67%	61%
Buying Climate	49%	54%	54%	45%

    Thanksgiving marks the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, a make-or-break period in which many retailers rack up as much as half their annual sales.
     INDEX — The ABCNEWS/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index, based on these ratings, stands at +28 on its scale of +100 to -100, down one point from last week. It peaked at +38 last January.
     The index has averaged +29 this year, a point above its record 1999 average. Its lifetime average, depressed by recession in the early 1990s, is -10.
    

ABCNEWS/Money Index
Today	+28
Jan. 16, 2000	+38  Record high
2000 average	+29
1999 average	+28  Best full year
1992 average	- 44  Worst full year
Feb. 9, 1992	- 50  Record low
Average since 12/85	- 10

A Closer Look
As usual, confidence is higher among better-off Americans: The index is +64 in higher-income households compared to -15 in the lowest, +48 among college graduates but -20 among high-school dropouts, +32 among whites but -4 among blacks and +32 among men but +23 among women.
     Here’s a closer look at the three components of the ABCNEWS/Money index:
     NATIONAL ECONOMY — The poll asks: Would you describe the state of the nation’s economy these days as excellent, good, not so good or poor? Seventy-seven percent of Americans rate the nation’s economy as excellent or good, unchanged from last week. The best was 80 percent Jan. 16. The worst was 7 percent in late 1991 and early 1992.
     PERSONAL FINANCES — The poll asks: Would you describe the state of your own personal finances these days as excellent, good, not so good or poor? Sixty-six percent rate their own finances as excellent or good, down a point from last week. The best was 70 percent, set Aug. 30, 1998, and last matched in January. The worst rating was 42 percent on March 14, 1993.
     BUYING CLIMATE — The poll asks: Considering the cost of things today and your own personal finances, would you say now is an excellent time, a good time, a not-so-good time or a poor time to buy the things you want and need? Forty-nine percent say it is an excellent or good time to buy things they want and need, the same as last week. The best was 57 percent Jan. 16. The worst was 20 percent in fall 1990.

Methodology
The ABCNEWS/Money magazine Consumer Comfort Index represents a rolling average based on telephone interviews with about 1,000 adults nationwide each month. This week’s results are based on 1,040 interviews in the week ending Nov. 19 and have an error margin of plus or minus percentage points. Field work was conducted by International Communications Research of Media, Pa.
     The ABCNEWS/Money index is derived as follows: The negative response to each index question is subtracted from the positive response to that question. The three resulting numbers are then added and divided by 3. The index can range from +100 (everyone positive on all three measures) to -100 (all negative on all three measures). The survey began in December 1985.

Previous ABCNEWS polls can be found in our Poll Vault.