Check out the lower level of planned frugality among consumers.

While 52 percent of consumers making less than $35,000 plan to cut back on dining out, that is down from the 72 percent who had such plans last fall, according to a survey by Information Resources Inc.

IRI found most consumers plan to spend less on summer vacations, cook at home more and eat out less often.

“The times they are a changin’, but not as much as they were changin’ in the fall of 2008,” said Thom Blischok, president of consulting and innovation at Information Resources.

The improving mood is reflected in the expected higher U.S. sales of existing homes in May for the second straight month and a manufacturing survey showing a 2010 hiring rebound.

However, IRI said the move to private label products, which stores have put a greater emphasis on in the recession because of their appealing lower prices and higher profit margins, will continue this year. Such products are expected to account for as much as 22 percent of U.S. sales of food and household goods, up from about 19 percent last year.

That trend was echoed in another study that found the U.S. recession is taking a bite out of national brand loyalty. Catalina Marketing Corp’s Pointer Media Network found that just four out of 10 brands held on to at least half of their highly loyal customers from 2007 to 2008.

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(Reuters photo)