The 2014 NFCC Financial Literacy Survey revealed that 71 percent of consumers, or roughly 179 million people, admitted to having personal finance worries.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) August 12, 2014
Close to four in five respondents (79%) to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling's July poll admitted that their personal finances keep them awake at night. The second highest number of responses came in a distant second, with 13 percent indicating that they sleep like a baby. The remaining choices were marital concerns, job security, and problems with the children which each had single digit responses.
In addition to the obvious credit problems resulting from overwhelming debt, financial concerns can wreck marriages, tear families apart, and put a person’s job in jeopardy due to being distracted while at work. Debt is like a dark cloud that follows a person 24 hours per day. They wake up with it, take it to work with them, and as the NFCC poll confirmed, they take it back to bed with them.
“There are two pieces of good news that can be gleaned from the poll,” said Gail Cunningham, spokesperson for the NFCC. “First of all, the respondents were able to identify the source of their distress, and secondly, they went to a reliable and trusted resource – http://www.DebtAdvice.org – for help. Their next step should be to reach out to an NFCC member agency for customized and solution-oriented assistance.”
If someone has financial concerns, they are not alone. The 2014 NFCC Financial Literacy Survey revealed that 71 percent of consumers, or roughly 179 million people, admitted to having personal finance worries with not enough savings, job issues, debt, and credit topping the list.
Regardless of the problem, the NFCC member agencies stand ready to help through the many services they provide, including the following:
- Budget and debt counseling;
- Financial education and literacy courses;
- Debt management programs;
- Housing counseling, including first-time homebuying, foreclosure prevention, and reverse mortgage;
- Student loan debt repayment counseling, and
- Bankruptcy pre-filing counseling and pre-discharge education.
The NFCC member agencies provide financial counseling and education to millions of consumers each year, with clients receiving comprehensive money management services based on their individual needs. Spending an hour with a trained and certified NFCC financial professional can put a person on the road to financial recovery. To be automatically connected to the agency closest to you, dial (800) 388-2227, or go online to http://www.DebtAdvice.org.
The NFCC’s July online poll question and answers are below:
What keeps you up at night?
A. Financial worries = 79%
B. Marital concerns = 2%
C. Job security = 4%
D. Problems with the children = 2%
E. Nothing, I sleep like a baby = 13%
Note: The NFCC’s July Financial Literacy Opinion Index was conducted via the homepage of the NFCC website (http://www.DebtAdvice.org) from July 1–31, 2014, and was answered by 2,148 individuals.
The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), founded in 1951, is the nation’s largest and longest serving national nonprofit financial counseling organization. The NFCC’s mission is to promote the national agenda for financially responsible behavior, and build capacity for its members to deliver the highest-quality financial education and counseling services. NFCC Members annually help millions of consumers through more than 600 community-based offices nationwide. For free and affordable confidential advice through a reputable NFCC member, call (800) 388-2227, (en Español (800) 682-9832) or visit http://www.nfcc.org.
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