"Making day-to-day decisions on spending money is one of the biggest challenges consumers face in keeping their financial lives in order," according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Larger purchases such as televisions and motor vehicles are often deliberate and planned. It is smaller, impulse purchases and special occasions which are far more likely to blow out the budget and eat away at savings.
Topics: consumer budgets, money management, household budgets, financial education
Money management can be a foreign language for many. Net worth, assets, depreciation, interest rates, APR, and other financial terms mean little to those individuals not working within the financial and investment sectors.
Topics: financial literacy, consumer budgets, money management, household budgets, financial education
While keeping on budget can be an issue for many American consumers, many are operating their homes entirely without a financial plan. It is possible to get by sans spending framework. However, running even a single-person household like this long-term typically leads to overspend – resulting in bad spending habits and debt.
Topics: consumer budgets, money management, household budgets, financial education
Despite a penchant for continually monitoring their accounts, most Americans are still worried about their financial future. Nearly half of US consumers say a $400 emergency would put them in financial hardship. Even more, report their savings is less than $1,000 (CNN Money).
Topics: financial literacy, consumer budgets, money management, household budgets, financial education