Personal Finances

Only 13% of adults say it's "very important" for them to be wealthy, ranking this personal priority far behind six others measured in a new survey .

Americans feel stuck in their tracks. A majority of survey respondents say that in the past five years, they either haven't moved forward in life or have fallen backward.

About 8-in-10 Republicans now say they are "pretty well satisfied" with the way things are going for them financially. By comparison, only 54% of both independents and Democrats subscribe to that view, the largest partisan gap in 20 years of Pew values surveys.

Summary of Findings Public assessments of the nation’s economy have fallen to a two-year low, and the nation’s economic outlook remains relatively gloomy. In particular, faced with a steady stream of negative news about the U.S. housing market, Americans are substantially less inclined than they were even a few months ago to say they expect […]

A 47-nation survey finds that as economic growth has surged in much of Latin America, East Europe and Asia over the past five years, people are expressing greater satisfaction with their personal lives, family incomes and national conditions. The picture is different in most advanced nations, where growth has been less robust and citizen satisfaction has changed little since 2002.

Interest in news about inflation at the pump goes beyond learning where to find the cheapest gallon and extends to impacts on the national economy.

Nearly three-in-ten adults say the most common way they take care of their regular monthly bills is by an online or electronic payment.

Despite a negative national savings rate, three-in-four Americans still think of themselves as savers. But a majority also acknowledge they don't save enough.

Most Americans are moderately upbeat about their family's financial prospects in the coming year, with 57% expecting some improvement in their financial situation and another 10% expecting a lot of improvement.

As Americans navigate increasingly crowded lives, the number of things they say they can't live without has multiplied in the past decade.