Despite financial stress, consumers still look ahead
Consumer optimism is high, particularly among Black and Latinx consumers, as many take active steps to improve their financial health.
- 37% said their financial situation has gotten worse this past year, however, respondents are still optimistic and taking steps to improve their financial health:
- Black (54%) and Latinx (49%) respondents are optimistic about their finances and have taken action to improve their credit and spending or earned a second income.
- 48% of total consumers think their finances will be better off next year.
- 27% made improvements in their spending habits and savings over the last year.
Top 3 financial goals in the past year:
- Paying bills in full each month
- Developing a workable budget
- Paying rent/mortgage in full each month
The majority of consumers think it’s important to save, but fewer are confident in their ability to do so.
- 83% of consumers said it’s important to budget for long-term finances and emergency savings each month.
- But fewer (76%) are confident in their ability to do so, and even fewer (62%) feel confident in their ability to save for retirement.
Consumers equally value in-person advice, digital tools when looking to improve financial health.
- 34% of respondents prefer a digital tool that helps them budget or automatically save, consistent with 31% who prefer expert advice or interaction with a banker.
For more information about Chase’s tools to help reach money goals, visit www.chase.com/personal/financial-goals.
Source: This study is based on a Chase survey conducted by Morning Consult sampling more than 5,000 consumers in the United States between February 12-26, 2021. The interviews were conducted online in the respondent's choice of English or Spanish and the data were weighted to U.S. census data representative of the total U.S. population based on age, race, gender, and educational attainment. The survey includes an oversample of Black and Latinx respondents.
