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Finder Consumer Confidence Index

Insights on the wealth, financial habits and economic outlook of everyday Americans.

Finder’s Consumer Confidence Index is a quarterly survey of US consumer attitudes and trends on the topics of wealth, debt, savings, work satisfaction and overall confidence in the economy. The index is a nationally representative study of the American public designed by Finder and conducted by Qualtrics.

Our index so far covers a sample of 8,000 plus American adults, and it’s growing by roughly 2,000 respondents each quarter. On this page is a small selection of the insights we’re compiling from our sample.

If you’re a journalist or researcher who’d like to discuss these findings with an expert, please get in touch with Richard Laycock, senior content manager & insights editor at uspr@finder.com.

Key findings 🔑

Key results are from Finder’s latest Consumer Confidence Index, conducted between July 6 and 18, 2023. Our previous surveys ran between April 11-20, 2023, January 9 and February 17, 2023, and October 4 to October 19, 2022.

  • 75% of respondents say they’re stressed about their current financial situation, down 2 percentage points from the 77% who said the same in April, 2023.
  • 25% say their household finances are worse off than a year ago, down 1 percentage points from 26% in April, 2023.
  • 67% of respondents say it’s likely the US will enter a recession in the next 12 months, down 5 percentage points from 72% in April, 2023.
  • 58% say inflation has affected their approach to spending or saving, up 1 percentage point from 57% in April, 2023.
  • 33% are investing more conservatively than six months ago, down 5 percentage points from 38% in April, 2023.
  • 23% say they couldn’t manage their budget or finances without a credit card, up 1 percentage points from 22% in April, 2023.
  • 86% are concerned about the rising costs of household bills, up 1 percentage point from 85% in April, 2023.
  • 45% are worried about being laid off in the next 12 months.
  • 20% say they would be able to live off their savings for a week or less if they lost their job tomorrow.

Wealth and debt 💰 💸

Our survey asks about personal and household income, savings and debt.

Quick stats on income:

  • The median personal income of survey respondents is $50,000.
  • The median household income of survey respondents is $70,000.

The average American is saving $2,324 a month and has roughly $32,231 in a savings account.

Men ($3,265) are saving at a rate that’s about two times higher than women ($1,430).


Millennials drops the most at the supermarket, spending an average of $277 a week on groceries.


58% say that inflation is affecting their saving or spending habits.


Of our respondents who are parents, 73% say they give their child an allowance, paying an average of $38 per child.


It’s been more than six months since 21% of adults checked their credit score.


American credit card holders owe an average of $4,437 in credit card debt, with women ($3,634) carrying substantially less debt than men ($5,301).


Fear over rising gas prices is rising, going from a combined concern of 85% in April, 2023 to 88% in July, 2023.


Of our respondents, 38% say they’ve made at least one purchase in the last six months using a buy now, pay later (BNPL) service.


Work–life 🛠️ 🧘‍♀️

We look at salary satisfaction, increases and expectations — and who’s on the move.

Roughly a quarter (29%) of those surveyed left a job in the last 12 months, with the two main reasons being finding a new job (12%) and taking a career break (8%).


73% of of both gen Z and millennials think they will get a pay rise in the next 12 months.


Those earning over $100,000 a year expect their pay rise will be 20% on average, compared to 14% on average for those earning under $100K.


Salary satisfaction is higher with men than it is with women, with 72% of men saying they are happy with their pay, compared to 53% of women.


A combined 20% say they would be able to live off their savings for a week or less if they lost their job tomorrow, with 14% saying they’d last under a week.


Over half (59%) of gen Z say that they’re at least slightly concerned that they will be laid off in the next 12 months.


64% of Americans are planning a vacation in the next 12 months is up, with 43% planning a domestic holiday, 10% international and 11% saying both.


Housing and auto 🏡 🚗

We break down where Americans live and who with, how much we’re paying, renting versus owning and the outlook on the future of housing.

Some 68% of respondents say they own their primary residence, with 28% saying they rent and the remainder selecting other. Of our respondents, 70% of men say they own their primary residence, compared to 66% of women.


The difference between month rent and mortgage payments is roughly $484, with the average mortgage payment coming in at $1,424 compared to $1,907 for rent.


Renters are doing it a lot tougher than those who own their home, with 38% of renters saying they struggle to pay the rent, compared to 19% of those who own.


Of those that don’t currently own any property, Gen Z is the most confident they will one day own a place.


Just 26% think now is the right time to buy a home, compared to 45% who said it’s not.


Despite the harsh economic climate, 60% of respondents to the July survey say they expect home prices in their area to increase over the next 12 months, compared to 51% back in January.


Some 49% of Americans live with an adult that is not contributing to the rent.


For those not contributing to the rent or mortgage monetarily, paying for food is the most common way they contribute at 44%.

Roughly 93% of adults say they have reliable access to a vehicle. Of those, the vast majority (89%) say they own their vehicle, with 9% leasing and 4% borrowing the vehicle form a friend or family member.

Boomers are most likely to own their vehicle (95%) with Gen Z the least likely (71%). Gen Z are most likely to either lease (21%) or borrow a friend or family member’s vehicle.


Investing 🐷🏦

We break down what Americans are doing with their money.

Roughly 46% of Americans say they have invested in stocks. Those earning over $100,000 (64%) are more likely than those earning less than $100,000 (39%) to have dabbled in investing.


As for where people are investing their money, stocks are the top choice at 56%, followed by high-interest savings accounts (47%) and real estate (37%).


More than half (56%) of those surveyed say that they plan to buy stocks in 2023.


Around a quarter (24%) of those surveyed say they are underprepared for retirement and a further 12% say they’ll never be able to retire.


Roughly 34% say crypto is a good investment, up 2 percentage points since the last survey, when 32% said the same.


43% of crypto owners are investing more conservatively than they were six months ago.


Roughly two in five Americans say they’ll need at least $1 million saved to retire comfortably.


Bitcoin is by far the most widely held crypto, with 77% of crypto owners owning BTC.


Chelsea Wells-Barrett headshot

For all media inquiries, please contact:

Chelsea Gregori, Public Relations Specialist

E: uspr@finder.com

/in/chelsea-wells-barrett-46b036101/ /CWellsbarrett/

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