The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) has released its 11th annual Consumer Financial Literacy Survey, identifying a series of differences relating to bill payment, savings and retirement, and barriers to homeownership.
Officials said the survey, which was sponsored by Bull’s Eye Credit Union and conducted online by Harris Poll in March 2018, also indicated some variances in behaviors between gender and age groups.
The survey participants consisted of 2,017 U.S. adults ages 18 and older.
“Millennials and more specifically millennial women, continue to face unique financial challenges,” Jeff Faulkner, acting NFCC president and CEO, said. “Young women are outpacing their male counterparts in completing college degree programs, leading to more who are dealing with student loan debt and a delayed start in the workplace. Because circumstances can sometimes contribute to missed bill payments and debts in collection early in a person’s adult life, we continue to provide financial counseling and coaching services.”
Survey results showed savings is another area where women face difficulties as well, revealing more than one in three women age 18 and over lack any trace of non-retirement savings while men between the ages of 18 and 34 are more likely to have savings than their female counterparts.
The data also determined 38 percent of adults who have tried to purchase a home in the past year have faced barriers – noting the pace of rising home prices in the United States is a top concern for potential homeowners.
Contributing barriers to home buying, officials said, include a lack of funding for down payment or closing costs, existing debt, limited options within their budget, and poor credit history or low credit scores.