What about your sense of independence? A remarkable 59% said owning something was important to their sense of independence, while 17% said it isn't important. There is a male-female disconnect on this question, with 35% of women saying that owning something is extremely important to their sense of independence, compared to just a quarter of men who said it is extremely important. A big majority (63%) of Americans over the age of 65 said that owning something was significant to their sense of independence, with one-third of them saying it's extremely important. Divorced respondents felt much the same. Sixty-five percent said ownership provided a positive contribution to their sense of independence.

Just 30% overall said it helped fulfill their sense of beauty to own something. Women are far more likely to find a feeling of beauty in ownership of a particular thing, with 38% of women agreeing that ownership is important to a feeling of beauty, and just 18% of men saying it is.

Ownership also conveys a sense of feeling special when an object is given by a loved one, and more than half said they also derive a sense of security and safety from the ownership of a significant possession. In a slight nod to the famously greedy movie figure Jerry Maguire, 7% agree that ownership of a thing "completes them", but 48% do not feel that way. More than half said owning something is important just for the sheer pleasure of it, and 74% said owning something is important for their sense of comfort.

The survey indicates that ownership is not particularly important to generating a feeling of power and authority, to appearing wealthier, to "one-upping" friends, or to help bond with others. It seems, though, that giving up buying new stuff may involve more than simply losing out on the shopping experience, the art of the deal and the thrill of the bargain. It may involve those deeper, complicated feelings that help each of us define who we are and how we relate to those around us. If ownership of a thing makes you feel special because someone you love bought it for you, what happens when they stop buying? Is their love for you compromised? Is yours for them? Can marriages, engagements, courtships survive without a coffee date, a piece of jewelry, or that one little thing to remember them by? Can fresh-picked flowers help around the house, and a thoughtful word or deed, fill the void?

Could we do this to our families for an entire year? Or longer? How are these feelings conveyed to our children? Is it with a sense of embarrassment that they would appear at school with something old, used or handed down? Or is there security to be found in the reduced cost of living provided by such a life? Can the security of money in the bank compete with the inner joy that comes with having the latest and greatest toy, gadget or pair of sneakers?

And what about safety, security, or independence? How are these impacted by your purchases and your ownership? What if you can no longer buy? Will you be able to find security in what you already own? In used items, in things borrowed or handed down?

The Zogby survey results indicate the simple purchase may not be so simple after all.. Giving up shopping might demand not only less examination of the latest batch of catalogues, but also more examination of our own feelings about the stuff in our lives.

When it comes down to it, consumerism is driven by the money workers make, and an exhaustive Zogby International survey has found that most Americans are making enough money to get by. About half said they can afford to enjoy some consumer luxury in their lives.

Just 7% said that they do not make enough money to pay their bills, and, as you might expect, that number gets smaller the older the respondent gets. But the survey shows there is also a connection between political ideology and income - those who consider themselves very liberal or progressive are twice as likely as conservatives to say their income does not meet their basic needs. Still, just 9% of the very liberal say they cannot pay their bills.

About one in four say they are making enough money for the time being, implying that more will be needed in the future. While 54% of those who consider themselves very conservative can afford some luxuries in life, just 40% of progressives said the same thing.

And the survey confirms that, financially speaking, it helps to be married. Among those who are married, 55% said they can afford some luxuries and just 4% said they cannot make ends meet, while 33% of those who are single and 44% of those who are divorced said they make enough to enjoy some extras. And those who own their home are doing markedly better than renters - just 4% of homeowners said they cannot pay basic bills, while 14% of renters are in the same boat.

The survey showed there is a difference between the amount of money people need to get by, and the amount they need to be comfortable. While 89% said they can make ends meet on $100,000 or less, there is clearly a desire to make more - 70% feel they can live comfortably without six figures.

While 54% said they need up to $50,000 to get by, half of those people said they needed more to be comfortable.

Twenty-five percent said they would require at least $100,000 a year in income to be comfortable, and 8% said they need that much to pay bills. Three percent said they need more than $500,000 each year to sleep easy at night.

While nearly half (48%) of those who were divorced, separated, or widowed said they needed less than $50,000 to be comfortable, just 17% of married respondents agreed that was enough income. And though they may think as different as night and day, it appears that liberals and conservatives run their lives on similar budgets - about one in five said they need less than $50,000 to get by, and about a quarter of each group said they require six figures to be comfortable. Almost half of each group - 46% of conservatives and 44% of liberals said they need between $50,000 and $100,000 coming through the door each year.

When it comes to dreaming about money, 31% said they would be happy with less than $1million, while 36% said said between $1 million and $10 million would cover their desires. And then there are those who want to be super rich -17% said they want more than $50 million.

Eight percent said that they would be fine with a sum between merely wealthy and being super-rich - something between $11 million and $49 million.