www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 The Financial Lives of Working Americans Jonathan Morduch September 29, 2014

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Leadership Jonathan Morduch, Professor of Public Policy and Economics, New York University Rachel Schneider, Senior Vice President, Insights and Analytics, Center for Financial Services innovation Principal Investigators The US financial diaries were created jointly by the NYU Financial Access Initiative, the Center for Financial Services Innovation, and Bankable Frontier Associates. Daryl Collins Director Nancy Castillo USFD Manager Timothy Ogden Managing Director PRELIMINARY DATA - DO NOT CITE

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Sponsorship Leadership support for the project is provided by the Ford Foundation and the Citi Foundation, with additional support and guidance from the Omidyar Network. PRELIMINARY DATA - DO NOT CITE

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 We have lots of annual data

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 But life is lived day to day, week to week

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 US Financial Diaries PRELIMINARY DATA - DO NOT CITE

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 High frequency economic and financial data – Interviews every 2-4 weeks over a year A view into hard-to-see strategies US Financial Diaries

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011

Focus IncomeAssets Cash flows

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, ,000 cash flows collected during the year. About 100 spending categories, 38 income types, 69 financial instruments. 460,000 answers to survey questions on health, financial literacy, time preference, organization, tax refunds, financial instruments, aspirations, income patterns 10

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Cash

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Fed Cash Product Office (April 2014) Diary of Consumer Payment Choice USFD: 40% on average USFD: 50% on average

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Cash in Income and Expenditures 80% of cash expenditures are < $50

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Cash spending is harder to track and manage Why cash matters

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Ups & downs within the year

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Garza Family Income, California 16

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, Turn to pawn shops, costly loans Garza Family Income

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Income Variability Northern California

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Predicting next month 19 Can you predict next month’s income and spending within $500?

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, Predicting next month

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 National data [SIPP]. Gregory Mills and Joe Amick, “Can Savings Help Overcome Income Instability?” Urban Institute. December Bottom 20%Next 20% Middle 20% CV (Coefficient of variation) Monthly Household Income 50%37%32% USA: CV of income (within year).

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Spending > income: 97% of households had at least one month with excess spending Overdrafts: 48% had one in the last year (if had checking account); 23% had two + Not Much Slack

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Credit cards 78% not paid in full each month 34% had a card near its maximum Not Much Slack

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Paying the Bills Choosing when to pay bills Late-paying as common as payday loans

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Fundamental tradeoff

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Now Later Soon

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 The quest for control

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Q: Which of the following is more important to you? A. Financial Stability B. Moving up the income ladder

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Pew Survey (2011): Sample 2000 Households Stability vs. Ladder-Climbing

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 USFD (2012): Sample 200 Households Stability vs. Ladder-Climbing PoorNear Poor Moderate income

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Emergency savings? Perceived saving need? Saving Needs Poverty Level Below Federal Poverty Line 1 – 2 times the line > Twice the line Median $0$150$300 $3000$4150$3200 PRELIMINARY DATA - DO NOT CITE

www. USfinancialdiaries.org | ©, 2011 Thank you