The term “personal finance” might mean something a little different to one person than it does to another. Generally, though, personal finance is a blanket term that covers the money going into and coming out of a household. This catchall might also include how much money a family saves and invests.
Most people understand that they need to bring in enough money to pay their bills, and they should try to save funds for their eventual retirement. They might also use the money they save for an eventual vacation or as a bulwark against unexpected expenses that can arise.
Personal finance statistics from the adult US population can reveal a lot about where we are as a society, so we’ll look at a few eye-opening ones in this article.
1. Money Problems are Commonplace
Nearly half of all adults say they sometimes lose sleep over money problems. When you consider that statistic, it’s not hard to understand why many individuals spend time thinking about the pros and cons of debt consolidation and other strategies to get themselves back on stable financial footing.
It’s important to realize and address any money problems you may be having as they can cause strife in relationships, and even health issues if you’re constantly preoccupied with them.
2. People Invest in the Stock Market
In 2020, 55% of US adults say they invested in the stock market. This is a little surprising because getting into something volatile, like stocks, can always backfire if the market or an individual stock plunges dramatically.
However, just because 55% of American adults may have tried investing in the stock market a couple of years ago, that does not necessarily mean they have a lot of their money tied up in it. Some of them might dip a toe in, but that doesn’t indicate they have an extensive stock portfolio.
3. The Average American has a Good FICO Score
The average American adult has a FICO score of 710. Most experts agree that if you go by this popular scoring model, anywhere from 670 to 739 is good. 740 to 799 is very good.
Keep in mind that 710 is a mean average. There are those who are high above it and others who are considerably below that number. The average American, though, is in the “good” range.
That’s a comforting thought. It means that even though there is plenty of debt out there, there are also many individuals and families that are doing at least okay with their financial decisions.
What Does All This Mean?
If you look at these three personal finance stats, it paints a rather compelling picture of the average American adult. Almost half of them lose sleep over money problems sometimes.
That means there are plenty of individuals who need to come up with financial strategies that will make their day-to-day lives less worrisome. Getting higher-paying jobs, starting to put away some savings, and getting out from under credit card debt and personal loans can all help.
On the flip side, the fact that 55% of American adults at least dabbled in the stock market in 2020 is a good sign. It means most adults are at least aware of this avenue as a way to invest. As long as they diversify and get sound investment advice, that should be able to help them as they save for retirement and other eventual goals.
The average FICO score of 710 is better than you might expect. If your credit isn’t so wonderful, this stat should give you some hope that if you’re diligent, you should be able to improve it.
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