Austin, Texas, May 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Half of Americans are feeling trapped in their financial situations according to a new third-party survey from Self Financial, a leading fintech company that makes building credit and savings more accessible. It also shows 83% of Americans with bad credit feel at least somewhat trapped in their financial situation and 62% have at least some degree of uncertainty that they’ll be able to afford their house or apartment over the next 12 months.
The survey was conducted by Wakefield Research and consisted of 1,000 nationally representative US adults ages 18+, including oversamples of 500 respondents for Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. It takes the pulse of Americans’ current financial situations and shares how the sentiments vary across race, age, family status and more.
The full report is available HERE.
While 50% of Americans feel trapped, the survey reveals millennials, moms, and Hispanic and Black respondents are feeling trapped more than their counterparts.
- Millennials (67%) are more likely to feel at least somewhat trapped in their financial situation than Boomers (31%).
- 66% of moms feel at least somewhat trapped, compared to 53% of non-moms.
- 59% of Hispanic and 54% of Black Americans report feeling at least a little or somewhat trapped in their financial situations, compared to 49% of whites.
Those who have credit challenges report feeling more financial strain. More than four out of five Americans (83%) with self-reported bad credit feel at least somewhat trapped in their financial situation, compared to those with OK credit (68%), good credit (50%), and excellent credit (24%). And more than half of Black Americans (53% vs. 34% of whites) report having bad or just OK credit. More than a quarter (27%) of those with bad credit are still reeling from the financial impact of losing their job as a result of the pandemic. On top of that, more than half (51%) indicate their monthly utilities cost has gone up.
Below are some additional key findings from the survey:
- Hanging on ‘til Payday. Nearly half (46%) of Hispanics and (46%) Black Americans report living paycheck to paycheck, compared to 38% of whites. The vast majority of respondents with bad credit (76%) are living paycheck to paycheck, compared to those with OK credit (56%), good credit (39%), and excellent credit (13%).
- Nightmare Situation. The majority of Americans (58%) are losing sleep over finances. Their top concerns are: paying next month's mortgage/rent (20%), having credit card debt of $5K or more (20%), maintaining their relationship with their partner through money stress (16%), and putting food on the table each night (15%).
- Parental Problems. More than 3 in 5 parents (62% vs. 43% of non-parents) feel at least somewhat trapped in their current financial situation, while 2 in 3 moms (66% vs. 53% non-moms) feel at least somewhat trapped. More than half of those moms (54% vs. 42% of non-moms) also report they are living paycheck to paycheck.
- Boxed In. In the past year, more than half (55%) of Americans have taken action to make ends meet. BIPOC Americans (69%) are more likely than whites (52%) to have taken some action, such as selling off belongings (19%) or borrowing money from friends or family (19%).
“As a financial educator, I’m hearing how people are feeling the strain from inflation, the pandemic and just monthly bills while living paycheck to paycheck,” says Sharita Humphrey, a former Self customer, paid Self spokesperson and an award-winning Certified Financial Education Instructor. “The survey data gives insight into the financial challenges people are facing right now, which can be amplified for BIPOC communities. I know from first hand experience that money problems can be overwhelming, especially when you aren’t sure what steps to take to get out of the hole. But I always say access to credit and emergency savings are the building blocks of a strong financial foundation because they give you options when you are in a tight spot.”
To date, more than 3 million people have signed up to build credit with Self.
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Methodological Notes
The Self Financial survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,000 nationally representative US adults ages 18+; including oversamples to increase sample size to 500 for each of the following groups: Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans. The survey was conducted between March 7 and March 16, 2022, using an email invitation and an online survey. Data was weighted to ensure reliable and accurate representation in each group.
Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points for the main sample and 4.4 percent for each of the oversample groups from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.
About Self Financial
Self Financial is a credit building platform working to increase economic inclusion and financial resilience through products that make building credit accessible. With no hard credit check to get started, Self's signature credit builder products issued by its partner banks are designed to enable people to build credit and savings simultaneously. The company also offers rent and utility payment reporting through RentTrack and LevelCredit, which Self acquired in February 2022. Download the Self app at the Apple App Store (200,000+ reviews and an average 4.9 rating) or Google Play or visit Self.inc for more information.
