USA TODAY/NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR FINANCIAL EDUCATION YOUNG ADULTS FINANCES POLL -- FINAL TOPLINE -- Timberline: 149163 R: 691 Princeton Job #: 06-10-045 Jeff Jones, Frank Newport October 26-vember 14, 2006 Results are based on telephone interviews conducted October 26-vember 14, 2006, with a random sample of 901 U.S. adults between the ages of 22 and 29. The sample consists of 690 respondents who had participated in earlier national Gallup polls and agree to be re-interviewed for a future poll, and 211 respondents who were randomly selected from a national sample of cell phone numbers. The sample is weighted by demographic information so that it is representative of 22-29 year olds nationwide. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls. USA TODAY/NEFE YOUNG ADULTS FINANCE POLL FINAL TOPLINE PAGE 1
To begin, we have some questions about your background. 1. Which of the following best describes your current situation employed full-time, employed part-time, a homemaker, a student, unemployed but looking for work, or unemployed and not looking for work? Employed full-time 62 Employed part-time 8 Homemaker 10 Student 11 Unemployed, looking for work 5 Unemployed, not looking for work 2 Disabled (vol.) 1 opinion * 2. Are you currently enrolled in college, graduate school or a trade school, or not? Yes, enrolled, not enrolled opinion 24 75 * 3. What is the last grade or class that you completed in school? [OPEN-ENDED] High school graduate or less College, incomplete College graduate Post-graduate work answer 39 35 19 8 * 4. Do you plan to get any more education beyond what you currently have, or are you now finished with your schooling? Plan to get more education Finished with schooling opinion 68 26 6 USA TODAY/NEFE YOUNG ADULTS FINANCE POLL FINAL TOPLINE PAGE 2
5. Which of the following best describes where you are currently living in a home that you, personally, own, in a home or apartment that you are renting, in the home of your parents or another relative, in a college dormitory or other student housing, or are you living somewhere else? In a home that you, personally, own 39 In a home or apartment that you are renting 37 In the home of your parents or another relative 22 In a college dormitory or other student housing 1 Other (vol.) 1 opinion * 6. (Asked of respondents who rent their home or apartment) Do you share the rent with others, or do you pay the full rent yourself? [IF SHARE: t including yourself, how many other people do you share the rent with?] [OPEN-ENDED] BASED ON 312 RESPONDENTS WHO RENT THEIR HOME OR APARTMENT (±7 PCT. PTS.) Pay full rent/ do not share Share with one other person Share with two other people Share with three or more other people opinion 51 35 9 5 * Thinking now about your personal financial situation, 7. How would you rate the job you are doing in managing your money as excellent, good, only fair, or poor? Excellent Good Only fair Poor opinion 19 51 24 6 -- 8. Would you say that you are presently living WITHIN your means, SOMEWHAT BEYOND your means, or FAR BEYOND your means? Within means Somewhat beyond means Far beyond means opinion 70 22 5 3 9. Is your overall quality of life at this age [ROTATED: better than what you expected it would be, about what you expected, or worse than what you expected it would be]? Better About as expected Worse opinion 26 56 16 1 USA TODAY/NEFE YOUNG ADULTS FINANCE POLL FINAL TOPLINE PAGE 3
10. (Asked of respondents who have finished with their schooling or who have graduated college and are working full-time) When you first began living on your own after school, were your expenses [ROTATED: higher than what you thought they would be, about what you expected, or lower than what you thought they would be]? BASED ON 457 RESPONDENTS WHO HAVE FINISHED THEIR SCHOOLING OR WHO HAVE GRADUATED COLLEGE AND ARE WORKING FULL-TIME (±6 PCT. PTS.) Higher About as expected Lower opinion 43 47 7 3 11. Do you think the financial pressures faced by your generation are [ROTATED: tougher, about the same, or not as tough] as those faced by previous generations? Tougher About the same t as tough opinion 60 26 11 3 12. At this time, what is your biggest financial concern? [OPEN-ENDED] Cost of owning/renting/taking care of a home 21 Cost of education needs 17 Credit card debt 9 Retirement/having enough to retire 8 Taking care of family/raising children 8 Bills/keeping them paid 6 Transportation/cost of owning a vehicle/car insurance 6 Jobs/job security/low pay 5 Saving money 4 Health insurance costs/medical costs 4 Lack of money in general 4 Higher interest rates * Other 9 ne 7 opinion 4 Percentages add to more than 100% due to multiple responses. USA TODAY/NEFE YOUNG ADULTS FINANCE POLL FINAL TOPLINE PAGE 4
13. Have you made any financial decisions in the past six months that you now regret, or not? Yes, have, have not opinion 15 85 * 14. (Asked of respondents who have made financial decisions in the past six that they now regret) What were those? [OPEN-ENDED] BASED ON 122 RESPONDENTS WHO HAVE MADE FINANCIAL DECISIONS IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS THAT THEY NOW REGRET (±11 PCT. PTS.) Credit card debt 23 Unneeded purchases 17 Buying a car/vehicle expenses 16 Bad investments/business ventures 10 Buying a house 6 Took out a loan 1 Other 25 opinion 5 Percentages add to more than 100% due to multiple responses. USA TODAY/NEFE YOUNG ADULTS FINANCE POLL FINAL TOPLINE PAGE 5
On a different topic, 15. Do you work out a monthly budget to help plan for your expenses, or not? 52 48 * 16. (Asked of respondents who work out a monthly budget to help plan expenses) How closely do you stick to your budget very closely, somewhat closely, or not that closely? BASED ON 487 RESPONDENTS WHO WORK OUT A MONTHLY BUDGET TO HELP PLAN EXPENSES (±6 PCT. PTS.) Very closely Somewhat closely t that closely opinion 38 56 6 -- COMBINED RESPONSES (Q.15-16): BASED ON FULL SAMPLE Yes, work out monthly budget 52 (Stick to budget very closely) (20) (Stick to budget somewhat closely) (29) (Stick to budget not that closely) (3), do not work out monthly budget 48 opinion * USA TODAY/NEFE YOUNG ADULTS FINANCE POLL FINAL TOPLINE PAGE 6
17. If you had to find a way to cut down on your spending, what would be the first thing you would eliminate? [OPEN-ENDED] Dining out 22 Going out/spending money on entertainment 10 Clothes/shoes 9 TV services (cable/satellite/digital) 6 Tobacco 5 Alcohol 4 Transportation/car expenses 4 Phone/cell services 4 Junk food/candy/pop 3 Recreational/extra curricular activities 3 Gas 2 Credit cards 2 Travel/vacation 1 DVDs/CDs/movies/music 1 Hobbies 1 Personal beauty/health expenses 1 Internet service 1 Coffee 1 Electronics * Other 8 ne/nothing 3 opinion 10 18. Are there any items you probably should not spend as much money on as you do, but that you are not willing to give up in order to cut expenses? [Please tell me what those are.] [OPEN-ENDED] Clothes/shoes 8 Tobacco 7 Junk food/candy/pop 6 Dining out 5 TV services (cable/satellite/digital) 4 Transportation/car expenses 3 DVDs/CDs/movies/music 3 Going out/spending money on entertainment 3 Alcohol 3 Phone/cell services 3 Gas 2 Electronics 2 Personal beauty/health expenses 2 Recreational/extra curricular activities 2 Internet service 1 Hobbies 1 Coffee * Travel/vacations * Credit cards * Other 5 ne/nothing 43 opinion 1 Percentages add to more than 100% due to multiple responses. USA TODAY/NEFE YOUNG ADULTS FINANCE POLL FINAL TOPLINE PAGE 7
19. (Asked of respondents who are currently enrolled in college or who have attended college) Thinking now just about your college and graduate school education, did you, or are you, personally, paying for -- all of it, most of it, about half of it, less than half of it, or none of it? BASED ON 674 RESPONDENTS WHO HAVE ATTENDED COLLEGE (±5 PCT. PTS.) All Most About half Less than half ne of it opinion 36 13 13 14 23 * 20. (Asked of respondents who are currently enrolled in college or who have attended college) Still thinking about your college and graduate education, please say whether each of the following was, or is, a major source of your funding for school, a minor source, or not a source. How about [ITEMS A-F READ IN ORDER]? BASED ON 674 RESPONDENTS WHO HAVE ATTENDED COLLEGE (±5 PCT. PTS.) (sorted by major source ) Major source Minor source t a source opinion E. A full- or part-time job you had while you were in college 40 37 22 1 D. A scholarship or some other source of financial aid 40 27 32 * C. Student loans 38 19 42 1 A. Money from your parents 26 27 47 * F. Your personal savings 11 34 54 1 B. Money from relatives other than your parents, including an inheritance 3 12 84 1 USA TODAY/NEFE YOUNG ADULTS FINANCE POLL FINAL TOPLINE PAGE 8
Next, 21. Please tell me which of the following you, personally, have. [ITEMS A-C ROTATED; ITEM D READ LAST] A. Credit cards, including bank credit cards, such as Visa and MasterCard and charge cards for specific stores B. Student loans C. A car loan D. Some other type of debt besides a mortgage 69 31 * 33 67 -- 45 55 * 24 76 * 22. (Asked of respondents who have debt) How often do you worry about the debt that you have frequently, occasionally, rarely, or never? BASED ON 810 RESPONDENTS WHO HAVE DEBT (±4 PCT. PTS.) Frequently Occasionally Rarely Never Don t have debt (vol.) opinion 30 34 23 13 1 * USA TODAY/NEFE YOUNG ADULTS FINANCE POLL FINAL TOPLINE PAGE 9
23. (Asked of respondents who have debt) Please say whether you have or have not done any of the following because of the debts you have. [RANDOM ORDER] BASED ON 810 RESPONDENTS WHO HAVE DEBT (±4 PCT. PTS.) (sorted by yes, have done ) Yes, have, have not opinion Put off or decided against furthering your education 29 70 1 t bought a house or apartment 26 73 1 Took a job you would not have taken otherwise 22 77 * Moved in with your parents or other relatives 19 81 * Put off having children 14 85 1 Did not take a job you would have taken otherwise 12 87 1 Put off getting married 11 88 1 24. (Asked of respondents who have debt) Next, we d like to learn about the amount of debt people are carrying. As a reminder, the data are only being collected for research purposes and I assure you all your responses to the survey are confidential. For each type of debt you have, stop me when I have read the appropriate range that corresponds to the amount you owe for that source. First, is the total amount of money you owe on your [ITEMS A-C ROTATED; ITEM D READ LAST] less than $1,000, $1,000-$5,000, more than $5,000 but less than $10,000, more than $10,000 but less than $20,000, more than $20,000 but less than $50,000, or more than $50,000? A. Credit cards B. Student loans C. Car loans D. Other debts Less than $1,000 47 5 5 28 $1,000-$5,000 31 23 18 33 More than $5,000-less than $10,000 13 19 24 12 More than $10,000-less than $20,000 6 28 33 9 More than $20,000-less than $50,000 2 19 16 5 More than $50,000 -- 5 1 10 answer 1 1 3 2 Sample size of respondents w/ each type of debt 686 362 427 195 Margin of error ±5 pct. pts. ±7 pct. pts. ±6 pct. pts. ±9 pct. pts. USA TODAY/NEFE YOUNG ADULTS FINANCE POLL FINAL TOPLINE PAGE 10
Thinking again about your current situation, 25. Please tell me whether you, personally, have [RANDOM ORDER], or not. A. Health insurance 73 27 -- B. A retirement savings plan, such as an IRA or 401(k) 45 55 1 C. A personal savings account that you contribute to regularly 60 40 * 26. (Asked of respondents who have a retirement savings plan) Do you think you are saving enough for retirement, or do you think you should be saving more? BASED ON 480 RESPONDENTS WHO HAVE A RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLAN (±6 PCT. PTS.) Saving enough Should be saving more opinion 33 65 1 Turning to something else, 27. Do you ever talk with someone you trust about your personal finances, or not? Yes, do, do not opinion 67 33 * USA TODAY/NEFE YOUNG ADULTS FINANCE POLL FINAL TOPLINE PAGE 11
Next, 28. Please say whether you are or are not -- getting any of the following types of financial assistance from a parent or other relative. [RANDOM ORDER] (sorted by yes, are getting ) Yes, are getting, are not getting opinion Giving or loaning you money when you need it for major expenses 28 71 1 Providing you with room and board 18 81 * Help paying your normal bills 11 89 * Providing you with a car 11 89 * Health insurance 9 90 * Current college tuition or expenses 7 92 * Money to supplement your income on a regular basis 7 93 * Help paying student loans 5 95 * 29. Thinking about last week, how many times did you eat dinner out at a restaurant of any kind? ne 21 One 22 Two 22 Three 14 Four 9 Five 6 Six 1 Seven 5 opinion 1 Mean (including none) 2.1 Median (including none) 2 Finally, 30. How much would you estimate that you, personally, spend on entertainment, such as dining out, going to the movies or other events, or buying music, in a typical month? $0/ none $1- $50 $51- $100 $101- $250 $251- $499 $500 or more opinion Mean (including zero) Median 4 25 21 25 13 10 2 $204 $100 USA TODAY/NEFE YOUNG ADULTS FINANCE POLL FINAL TOPLINE PAGE 12