Keeping Up With Rising Food and Energy Costs Tops List of
                    Financial Concerns for Americans, According to American Pulse™

           Majority of Americans Having Difficulties Paying Bills

COLUMBUS, OH – (MARKET WIRE) – 12/4/08 – Close to three in five Americans (58.9%) report that rising food and energy costs worry them, making it the number one concern regarding personal finance, according to the November American Pulse™ Survey of 4,348 respondents. Potential failure of the U.S. economy (53.6%) and not being prepared for emergencies (46.5%) round out the top three financial worries for Americans.

Of the close to 60% of Americans having difficulties paying their bills, 33% are having a hard time keeping up with utility bills, while credit card bills (30.5%) and mortgage/rent payments (24.6%) also appear to be challenging. One way Americans may cope in a tough economy is by simplifying their lives. When asked what steps they are taking to live more modestly, 71.3% say they are decreasing spending, 44.4% are settling for less and 41.8% are doing more at-home activities.

Other Key Findings: 

·         25.1% say a redistribution of wealth gives Americans incentive to work harder, 48% disagree.

·         64% say “no” to taxpayer dollars going towards bailout of Detroit automakers…58.5% say “no” to dollars being used to bailout health benefits of retired autoworkers.

·         55.9% fault Wall Street for the credit crisis, 54.4% place the blame on Congress and 51.8% say Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac.

For complimentary findings: http://americanpulse.bigresearch.com.

About American Pulse™
The American Pulse™ Survey is collected online by BIGresearch every month exclusively utilizing Survey Sampling International’s (SSI) U.S. panel covering topics such as politics, pop culture and the economy. Over 4,000 respondents participate, providing greater insights into how Americans really feel about issues they currently face. http://www.bigresearch.com.

About Survey Sampling International (SSI)
Survey Sampling International is the premier global provider of sampling solutions for survey research. SSI offers access to more than 6 million consumer and business-to-business research respondents in 54 countries via Internet, telephone, and mobile. Additional client services include custom profiling, survey programming and hosting, data processing, sampling consulting, and survey optimization. SSI serves more than 1,800 marketing research clients, including nearly three-quarters of the top researchers worldwide. Founded in 1977, SSI has an international staff of 400 people representing 50 countries and 36 languages. The company is based in Shelton, CT with 14 additional offices worldwide. http://www.surveysampling.com

Contacts:
BIGresearch                                                     SSI
Chrissy Wissinger                                              Diane Urso
chrissy@bigresearch.com                                  diane_urso@SurveySampling.com
614.846.0146                                                     203.567.7236