The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP for short) recently published the results of a poll that showed that Americans are optimistic about a national economic recovery within the next half year. . Developing a savings, financing college and preparing for retirement are all areas of great concern.
Personal finances don’t light up the headlines like recession busting
The CFP found that 44 percent of individuals expect the U.S. economy to rise before their personal finances discover relief, when 28 percent have a doom and gloom outlook. CFP chair Robert Glovsky told Bloomberg that “Americans are generally hopeful, and much of the economic news leads us to conclude that we are out of the recession, and a double dip is unlikely”.
But this optimism doesn’t stick to the personal finance problem, it seems. Consumer confidence may be up while the declared unemployment rate was down .2 percentage points from May 2010 to June 2010 (it was 9.5 percent in June), but the CFP survey indicates that nearly two-thirds of Americans (65 percent) indicate that their worries over basic matters of long-term personal finance have grown considerably since the beginning of the recession. Consumers may want cash til payday during this recession, but credit issues may preclude them from a bank loan. Relying upon a bad credit personnel loans is an alternative, but not one that has inspired consumers to view their financial futures within the most positive manner.
A three-fold path to bad-time personal finances
The CFP survey, which was conducted via telephone by market research firm Penn Schoen Berland, found the vast majority of the 1,000-member sample group of consumers ages 18 and older were afraid they wouldn’t be able to maintain sufficient savings, pay for college or have enough money put away for retirement. Adding to the worries surrounding their personal finances, 80 percent of respondents felt that Congress and federal regulators hadn’t taken an active enough role in pushing legislation to regulate financial markets. However, various media sources indicate a reform bill may pass through Congress soon.
More information
bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-13/americans-are-more-optimistic-about-economy-than-own-finances-survey-says.html
cfp.net/media/release.asp?id=253
