MyMoney Resources - Researcher

Find research we’ve published and information we’ve collected about the consumer financial marketplace. Use these resources to improve your understanding of the marketplace.

Conducted biennially since 2009 partly in response to a statutory mandate, the survey is administered in partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau and collects information on bank account ownership, use of prepaid cards and nonbank financial transaction services, and use of bank and nonbank credit by U.S. households.

This study analyzes the impact of the FDIC’s Money Smart financial education curriculum and training on the financial opinions and behaviors of course participants. The study collected data from 631 adult respondents who experienced some portion of the Money Smart program during 2004-2005 and also completed a pre-training survey, post-training survey, and telephone follow-up survey. The data indicate that Money Smart financial education training positively affected consumer behaviors as measured through self-reported responses to survey questions 6-12 months after completing the training. Among the significant findings were that participants were more likely to open bank accounts, save money in a mainstream deposit product, use and adhere to a budget, and have increased confidence in their financial abilities when contacted six to twelve months after completing the Money Smart course than they were before taking the course.

This study analyzes the impact of the FDIC’s Money Smart financial education curriculum and training on the financial opinions and behaviors of course participants. The study collected data from 631 adult respondents who experienced some portion of the Money Smart program during 2004-2005 and also completed a pre-training survey, post-training survey, and telephone follow-up survey. The data indicate that Money Smart financial education training positively affected consumer behaviors as measured through self-reported responses to survey questions 6-12 months after completing the training. Among the significant findings were that participants were more likely to open bank accounts, save money in a mainstream deposit product, use and adhere to a budget, and have increased confidence in their financial abilities when contacted six to twelve months after completing the Money Smart course than they were before taking the course.

This study analyzes the impact of the FDIC’s Money Smart financial education curriculum and training on the financial opinions and behaviors of course participants. The study collected data from 631 adult respondents who experienced some portion of the Money Smart program during 2004-2005 and also completed a pre-training survey, post-training survey, and telephone follow-up survey. The data indicate that Money Smart financial education training positively affected consumer behaviors as measured through self-reported responses to survey questions 6-12 months after completing the training. Among the significant findings were that participants were more likely to open bank accounts, save money in a mainstream deposit product, use and adhere to a budget, and have increased confidence in their financial abilities when contacted six to twelve months after completing the Money Smart course than they were before taking the course.

The American Housing Survey (AHS) is the largest, regular national housing sample survey in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the AHS to obtain up-to-date housing statistics for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Although the focus of the AHS is on the housing unit (physical space), the survey captures a rich array of information about the individuals and households who occupy those units, including the financial implications of their housing choices. In the AHS, national data are collected every other year, from a fixed sample of about 50,000 homes selected to represent a cross-section of all housing in the nation, plus new construction each year. In addition to interviewing the households who occupy the housing units, Census Bureau workers obtain information on unoccupied units from landlords, rental agents, or neighbors. The AHS provides detailed data on the size, composition, and condition of the housing inventory; data on financial characteristics of occupants such as monthly housing costs (the sum of all housing costs including utilities, the ratio of housing costs to income, and payment plans of primary and secondary mortgages); and neighborhood quality, such as presence or lack of crime, litter, or housing deterioration. In recent years additional questions provide information about characteristics such as gated communities and home equity loans. The survey asks homeowners about repairs and mortgages, renters about rent control and rent subsidies, recent movers about the homes they left and why they moved, and workers about their commutes. For all occupants the AHS provides age, sex, household relationships, education, wages, and the year the occupants moved into their home. The survey started in 1973, and has had the same sample since 1985, providing a view of how homes and households change over the years. In some metropolitan areas additional samples have been added every 4-6 years to measure local conditions. The most recent national survey data available are from the 2009 survey.

The Community Financial Access Pilot (CFAP) began in 2008 and was implemented through December 2009 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the Treasury) to increase access to financial services and financial education among low- and moderate-income families and individuals, especially individuals who have no bank or credit union account. Through the Treasury’s Office of Financial Education (now the Office of Financial Education and Financial Access), eight locations, representing a diverse set of urban, suburban, metropolitan, and rural areas of the U.S., were selected for a pilot project designed to enhance local capacity to build collaboratives that would increase the availability and use of mainstream financial services and financial education for the low- and moderate-income (LMI) population. This report summarizes the pilots during the 2008-2009 pilot period. Approaches varied substantially according to each community’s needs, priorities and resources. Some of the pilots principally focused on providing opportunities for LMI individuals to obtain financial education and a “second chance account,” if they had previous difficulties managing accounts. Other sites promoted accounts more broadly to individuals who were outside of the banking system. A third set of communities focused principally on developing the infrastructure to deliver high quality financial education for LMI individuals, including children, as a precursor to providing access to financial services. Despite these different approaches, similar findings were found in multiple communities. These common findings include: financial institutions are critical partners in delivering appropriate products and services; effective delivery of financial education is critical to promote sound use of financial products and services; both financial access and financial education can and should be delivered in diverse venues; and a strong collaborative effort can lead beyond accounts and education to provide new initiatives and ideas to address the many complex challenges facing LMI individuals. The report concludes with a description of the Treasury's development of a national Bank On USA initiative which will promote access to affordable and appropriate financial services and basic Consumer Credit products to benefit LMI individuals and households, building on lessons learned.

The Community Financial Access Pilot (CFAP) began in 2008 and was implemented through December 2009 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the Treasury) to increase access to financial services and financial education among low- and moderate-income families and individuals, especially individuals who have no bank or credit union account. Through the Treasury’s Office of Financial Education (now the Office of Financial Education and Financial Access), eight locations, representing a diverse set of urban, suburban, metropolitan, and rural areas of the U.S., were selected for a pilot project designed to enhance local capacity to build collaboratives that would increase the availability and use of mainstream financial services and financial education for the low- and moderate-income (LMI) population. This report summarizes the pilots during the 2008-2009 pilot period. Approaches varied substantially according to each community’s needs, priorities and resources. Some of the pilots principally focused on providing opportunities for LMI individuals to obtain financial education and a “second chance account,” if they had previous difficulties managing accounts. Other sites promoted accounts more broadly to individuals who were outside of the banking system. A third set of communities focused principally on developing the infrastructure to deliver high quality financial education for LMI individuals, including children, as a precursor to providing access to financial services. Despite these different approaches, similar findings were found in multiple communities. These common findings include: financial institutions are critical partners in delivering appropriate products and services; effective delivery of financial education is critical to promote sound use of financial products and services; both financial access and financial education can and should be delivered in diverse venues; and a strong collaborative effort can lead beyond accounts and education to provide new initiatives and ideas to address the many complex challenges facing LMI individuals. The report concludes with a description of the Treasury's development of a national Bank On USA initiative which will promote access to affordable and appropriate financial services and basic Consumer Credit products to benefit LMI individuals and households, building on lessons learned.

The Consumer Expenditure Survey collects information from households and families on their buying habits (expenditures), income, and household characteristics. The survey data are collected on an ongoing basis by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This nationwide household survey is designed to represent the total U.S. civilian noninstitutional population. The survey consists of two components, a quarterly Interview Survey and a weekly Diary Survey. In the Interview Survey, each consumer unit is interviewed every 3 months over five calendar quarters. In the initial interview, information is collected on demographic and family characteristics and on the consumer unit’s inventory of major durable goods. Expenditure information is collected in the second through the fifth interviews using uniform questionnaires. Income and employment information is collected in the second and fifth interviews. In the fifth interview, a supplemental section is administered in order to account for changes in assets and liabilities over a one-year period. The Interview Survey collects detailed data on an estimated 60 to 70 percent of total family expenditures. In addition, global estimates—that is, estimated average expenditures for a 3-month period—are obtained for food and other selected items. These global estimates account for an additional 20 to 25 percent of total expenditures. In the Diary Survey, respondents are asked to keep track of all their purchases made each day for two consecutive 1-week periods. Participants receive each weekly diary during a separate visit by a Census Bureau interviewer. Diary and Interview Survey microdata for individual consumer units since 1990.

The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It supports a set of widely reported monthly economic indicator statistics such as the national unemployment rate. As a household survey, the CPS provides a comprehensive body of data on the composition of the labor force (by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, family relationship and veteran status), employment, unemployment, hours of work, earnings, discouraged workers and other persons not in the labor force, and other attributes of the labor force including employed multiple job holders and the impact of education level on employment and earnings. Data are also available on work experience, occupational mobility, job tenure, educational attainment, and school enrollment of workers. Supplemental questions on a variety of labor force topics (e.g., employment of school-aged workers; high school graduates and dropouts; displaced workers) and occasional non-labor topics are also included in the survey. The survey has been conducted monthly since 1940, and underwent a major redesign in 1994. It is currently conducted on a nationally representative sample of about 60,000 households.