Impulse Charity

Here's yet another unscientific but telling poll showing how America's tough economy may be influencing mainstream giving behavior at home: from October 6-13 of this year, Reader's Digest placed a one-question, online poll on high-traffic Web sites in 11 countries—Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Some 150 respondents in each country were asked, What would you do with a sudden windfall?

Here are some of their answers, announced today:

*83 percent of Americans—at least 15 percent more than in any other country surveyed—said they'd use a cash infusion to pay off debt or add to savings.

*20 percent of Australians said they would give to charity, versus 16 percent in France and just 3 percent in the United States.

*53 percent of Italians said they'd splurge on a luxury item such as a car, versus 50 percent in France, 15 percent in Canada, and 5 percent in the United States.

For more poll results, click here.

(Photograph by Tomislav Forgo for istock.com)