Fewer Americans Budgeting, Even As Their Spending Rises

The financial literacy industry is buzzing over the findings of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling’s eighth annual Financial Literacy Survey, with over 60% of Americans reporting that they do not maintain a budget for their individual or family financial affairs.  This figure is the highest reported in the last six years, while the survey also found that nearly 35% of Americans carry credit card debt on a monthly basis.

Many financial education enthusiasts are promulgating that without higher rates of financial literacy, many individuals will continue to lack the critically important understanding of basic personal finance topics that are necessary for them to become empowered with respect to making better informed financial decisions.

The Financial Literacy Survey was published just as the nation’s Financial Literacy Month began, and the focus on the importance of financial education has never been higher.  Yet the data still shows some startling trends.  Survey participants noted that their top concerns include the lack of savings for emergencies, as well as the likelihood that they may retire without sufficient funds for their retirement years.

While the survey also noted that more than forty percent of individuals give themselves a grade of C, D or F on their understanding of financial concepts, the financial literacy industry believes that the fruits of Financial Literacy Month, combined with the continuing growth of the financial literacy movement, will bode very well for more people to be classified with grades of an A or B in the months and years ahead.