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 has so far collected responses from 10,000+ American adults, and is 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 October 11 and 30, 2023. Our previous surveys ran between July 6 and 18, 2023, April 11-20, 2023, January 9 and February 17, 2023, and October 4 to October 19, 2022.
79% of respondents say they’re stressed about their current financial situation, up 4 percentage points from the 75% who said the same in July, 2023.
31% say their household finances are worse off than a year ago, up 6 percentage points from 25% in July, 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.
62% say inflation has affected their approach to spending or saving, up 4 percentage point from 58% in July, 2023.
34% are investing more conservatively than six months ago, up 1 percentage points from 33% in July, 2023.
23% say they couldn’t manage their budget or finances without a credit card, up 1 percentage points from 22% in April, 2023.
85% are concerned about the rising costs of household bills, down 1 percentage point from 86% in July, 2023.
46% are worried about being laid off in the next 12 months.
25% 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 $67,000.
The majority of Americans (63%) are saving less than $300 a month and have roughly $31,152 in a savings account.
Over a quarter (27%) of men are saving $500 or more a month compared to 23% of women.
Gen Y drops the most at the supermarket, spending an average of $263 a week on groceries.
62% say that inflation is affecting their saving or spending habits.
How stressed are you with your current financial situation?
How much do you save on average per month?
How much do you have in cash savings?
How much do you spend on groceries per week for your household?
What do you think is the likelihood of the US experiencing a recession in the next 12 months?
Has any of the following impacted your approach to saving or spending?
When was the last time you checked your credit report?
What is your credit score?
Do you expect to receive a tax refund this year?
What do you plan to do with that refund?
Have you ever lied when filing your taxes?
Do you have additional income you don’t report?
How many credit cards do you currently have?
What type of credit card do you have?
Could you manage your budget/finances without a credit card?
How long will it take you to pay off your credit card debt?
How much credit card debt are you carrying (i.e. balance accruing interest)?
How many children do you have?
How many children under the age of 18 do you have?
What best describes your child(rens) banking situation?
How much allowance does each child receive per week?
Who is responsible for paying the allowance?
Are you giving your child more, less or the same allowance as 12 months ago?
Why are you giving your child more, less or the same allowance amount as 12 months ago?
How does your child use their allowance?
If your child puts allowance into an account, which of the following?
How many times have you purchased using buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) platforms (e.g. Afterpay, Affirm, Klarna) in the last 6 months?
How much BNPL debt are you carrying (i.e. balance accruing interest)?
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 (13%) and taking a career break (8%).
73% of of both gen Z and gen Y think they will get a pay rise in the next 12 months.
Salary satisfaction is higher with men than it is with women, with 67% of men saying they are happy with their pay, compared to 50% of women.
A combined 25% say they would be able to live off their savings for a week or less if they lost their job tomorrow, with 17% saying they’d last under a week.
Over half (61%) 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.
Have you voluntarily left a job in the last 12 months?
Which of the following best describes your current employment status?
Do you currently work more than one job?
What best describes your “other” employment?
Do you think you will get a pay rise in the next 12 months?
What percentage increase do you expect to receive?
Are you satisfied with your current income?
If you lost your job tomorrow, how long could you live off your savings for?
What is your credit score?
Do you expect to receive a tax refund this year?
What do you plan to do with that refund?
Have you ever lied when filing your taxes?
Do you have additional income you don’t report?
How concerned are you that you’ll be laid off in the next 12 months?
Have you worked remotely in the last 12 months? If so, where?
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 60% of respondents say they own their primary residence, with 36% saying they rent and the remainder selecting other. Of our respondents, 63% of men say they own their primary residence, compared to 58% of women.
The difference between month rent and mortgage payments is roughly $82, with the average mortgage payment coming in at $1,824 compared to $1,906 for rent.
Renters are doing it a lot tougher than those who own their home, with 41% of renters saying they struggle to pay the rent, compared to 20% 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 21% think now is the right time to buy a home, compared to 52% who said it’s not.
Despite the harsh economic climate, 60% of respondents to the October survey say they expect home prices in their area to increase over the next 12 months, compared to 51% back in January.
For those not contributing to the rent or mortgage monetarily, paying for food is the most common way they contribute at 41%.
Roughly 89% of adults say they have reliable access to a vehicle. Of those, the vast majority (89%) say they own their vehicle, with 10% leasing and 4% borrowing the vehicle form a friend or family member.
Boomers are most likely to own their vehicle (97%) with Gen Z the least likely (76%). Gen Z are most likely to either lease (19%) or borrow a friend or family member’s vehicle (12%).
Which of the following best describes your primary residence?
Do you own or rent your primary residence?
Do you own any property?
Which of the following best describes the property you own?
How much does your household spend on your mortgage per month?
How much does your household spend on your rent per month?
Do you struggle to pay your home loan?
Do you struggle to pay your rent?
Do you believe now is a good time to buy property?
Do you expect to receive a tax refund this year?
How do you expect property values in your local area to change in the next 12 months?
Are there any adults (over 18) living in your primary residence who don’t contribute to the rent or mortgage?
You said that someone lives with you “”rent-free””, do they contribute in any other way?
Do you or your family have reliable access to a vehicle?
Which best describes you access to your vehicle(s)?
Investing 🐷🏦
We break down what Americans are doing with their money.
Roughly 40% of Americans say they have invested in stocks, outside of contributions to a 401K or similar retirement plan. Those earning over $100,000 (58%) are more likely than those earning less than $100,000 (36%) to have dabbled in investing.
As for where people are investing their money, stocks are the top choice at 51%, followed by high-interest savings accounts (48%) and real estate (35%).
More than half (56%) of those surveyed say that they plan to buy stocks in 2023.
Around a quarter (27%) of those surveyed say they are underprepared for retirement and a further 15% say they’ll never be able to retire.
Roughly a third Americans say they’ll need at least $1 million saved to retire comfortably.
Have you ever invested in stocks, outside of contributions to a 401(k) or similar retirement plan?
How much money do you currently have invested in stocks?
Compared to six months ago, are you investing more conservatively or more adventurously?
Do you think it’s a good time to invest in any of the following areas?
How are you invested in stocks?
Do you plan to buy stocks in 2023?”
Do you think cryptocurrency is a good investment?
Have you ever invested in cryptocurrencies?
What was the first coin you bought?
Do you own any of the following cryptocurrency related products?
How much money do you currently have invested in cryptocurrency?
Compared to six months ago, are you investing more conservatively or more adventurously?
Why don’t you own any cryptocurrency?
If you had your funds on a cryptocurrency exchange (e.g. Binance, Crypto.com) have you moved all or the bulk of them off?
Have you stopped trading or completely exited the cryptocurrency market as a result of the FTX collapse and similar events?
Have you ever sent money to the wrong person?
What was the value of the transfer?
Finder’s Consumer Confidence Index is an ongoing quarterly nationally representative survey, so far polling more than 10,000 American adults, asking questions relating to household finances. First collected October 4-19, 2022, with subsequent surveys running between January 9 to February 17, 2023, April 11-20, 2023, July 6-18, 2023, and most recently October 11-30, 2023.
Our data is based on an online survey of 2,033 US adults commissioned by Finder and conducted by Qualtrics/SAP from October 11-30, 2023, with representative quotas for gender, age and states.
We assume the 2,033 participants in our survey represent the US population of 260.9 million Americans who are at least 18 years old, according to the July 2022 US Census Bureau population estimate(6). This assumption is made at the 95% confidence level with a 2% margin of error.
We define generations by the age of participants at the time of the survey:
Gen Z — any adults born post-1997
Gen Y — 1981–1996
Gen X — 1965-1980
Baby Boomers — anyone born pre-1964
We define geographical regions according to the divisions of the US Census Bureau.
For all media inquiries, please contact:
Richard Laycock, Insights editor and senior content marketing manager
Richard Laycock is Finder’s NYC-based senior content marketing manager & insights editor, spending the last decade data diving, writing and editing articles about all things personal finance. His musings can be found across the web including on NASDAQ, MoneyMag, Yahoo Finance and Travel Weekly. Richard studied Media at Macquarie University, including a semester abroad at The Missouri School of Journalism (MIZZOU).
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