Senior Advisor and Research Fellow, Consumer Finance Institute
May 2025
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.
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The data presented in the April 2025 LIFE Survey Report reveal significant declines in respondents’ net optimism about their income as well as their general outlook compared with last year. We note several key observations about consumers’ financial lives over the past 12 months, including:
Net optimism about income decreased from January by the largest amount since the beginning of the LIFE Survey.
Nearly 50 percent of respondents reported cutting their discretionary spending over the prior 12 months, along with one-quarter who have cut their essential spending.
Respondents’ net sentiment is at its lowest point since the beginning of the LIFE Survey.
Download expanded data tables featured in the April 2025 LIFE Survey Data Report here.
