Consumer Finance
Our Consumer Finance Institute researches how people earn, spend, save, and invest, as well as how credit markets and payment systems affect the economy. Our goal is to foster a healthy consumer sector, a stable financial system, and a resilient regional and national economy.
Working Paper
Savings Versus Debt: The Effects of Survey Question Order on Consumers’ Reported Financial Priorities
WP 24-17 – Survey after survey indicates that building savings and reducing debt are among the top financial goals for many Americans. However, because of limited resources and inherent trade-offs, achieving these two goals can be challenging and often requires prioritizing one goal over the other.
Labor, Income, Finances, and Expectations (LIFE) Survey
26 Aug ’24
The Labor, Income, Finances, and Expectations (LIFE) Survey collects data on topics related to the Consumer Finance Institute’s mission to better understand how people earn, spend, save, and invest, as well as how credit markets and payment systems affect the economy.
Event
Oct
24-25
2024
Workshop on Changing Demographics and Housing Demand
Fannie Mae Midtown Center, 1100 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005 (Hybrid)
Article
CFI in Focus: Incentives and Debt Repayment in Consumer Bankruptcy
CFI in Focus – In this article, we summarize findings from two recent studies on how requiring higher debt repayment to creditors in bankruptcy can lead to unintended consequences.
Brief
Do Price Changes Affect Crypto Ownership?
Since January 2022, the Consumer Finance Institute (CFI) has collected information about cryptocurrency ownership from six different surveys; all six asked about current ownership of cryptocurrency, while three also asked about likelihood to purchase crypto in the future.
Working Paper
How Much Does College Cost and How Does It Relate to Student Borrowing? Tuition Growth and Borrowing over the Past 30 Years
WP 24-16 – The rising cost of college and graduate school is often cited as a cause of rising student loan borrowing. This paper analyzes long-term trends in tuition and student financing using data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study.
Report
LIFE Survey Report – July 2024
This report is part of a quarterly series on key observations from the Labor, Income, Finances, and Expectations (LIFE) Survey. Data from the survey provide insight into consumers’ recent financial lives and their future expectations.