Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Appendix B: Consumer Responses to Survey Questions

Questions are listed below in the order in which they were presented to respondents. Questions with fewer than 11,316 respondents were not asked to the full sample, and the question-specific screening criteria are available in appendix A. All data are weighted to yield estimates for the U.S. adult population.

Living Arrangements Section

Question L0. Do each of the following types of people currently live with you in your household?

Question L0A. Which of the following best describes the adult children (who are age 18 or older) who live with you?

Question L1. You indicated that you live with (your parents, extended family members, a roommate, adult children who are not in school, or) someone outside of your immediate family. Are each of the following reasons why you live with these individuals?

General Well-Being Section

Question B2. Overall, which one of the following best describes how well you are managing financially these days:

Question B3. Compared to 12 months ago, would you say that you (and your family living with you) are better off, the same, or worse off financially?

Question B6. Think of your parents when they were your age. Would you say you (and your family living with you) are better off, the same, or worse off financially than they were?

Question B8. Imagine a ladder showing where people stand in the United States. At the top are the people who are best off—those who have the most money, the best education, and the most respected jobs. At the bottom are the people who are worst off—those who have the least money, the least education, and the least respected jobs or no job. Where would you place yourself on this ladder?

Question B7. How would you rate economic conditions today:

Question B11. And now a general question about trust. On a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 is not at all and 10 is completely, in general how much do you trust most people?

Employment Section

Question D1A. Last month, did you do any work for either pay or profit?

Question D1E. At any time during the past month did you want to work (more)?

Question D21. Did each of the following contribute to you not working or not working as much as you wanted last month?

Question D3A. Think about your main job (the job from which you earned the most income in the past month). In this job, were you working:

Question D3B. Still thinking about your main job, do you usually work:

Question D20. You indicated that you did not work full time at this job. Did you want a full-time job?

Question D30. Still thinking about your main job, do you normally start and end work around the same time each day that you work or does it vary?

Question D31. Approximately how far in advance does your employer usually tell you the hours that you will need to work on any given day?

Question D33. A temporary job lasts for a limited time or until the end of a project. Is your main job a temporary job?

Question D4. In addition to your main job, did you have any other jobs last month?

Question D6. In your additional job(s), were you working:

Question D44. Think about any job in the past 12 months not just your main job last month. In the past 12 months, have you:

Question D5. Last month, did your spouse or partner do work for either pay or profit?

Gig Economy Section

Question GE1. In the past month, have you been paid for each of the following activities?

Question GE2. In the past month, have you been paid for each of the following activities?

Question GE10. In the past month, what were your reasons for doing these activities? Check all that apply.

Question GE11. In the past month, what was your reason for doing these activities? Check one.

Question GE4. Were any of these activities the main job that you told us about already?

Question GE20. How much time did you spend last month on any of these activities? (Do not include taking GfK Surveys.)

Question GE22. Relative to a year ago, did you spend more, the same, or less time on these activities last month?

Question GE40a. In the past 12 months, how much of your income was from these activities?

Question GE40b. In the past 12 months, have you regularly earned money from these activities?

Question GE5. Some people doing these activities use companies that connect them directly with customers using a website or mobile app. For example, Uber and Lyft help drivers find riders. Last month, did you find any paid work or customers using a company like this?

General Housing Section

Question GH1. Please describe the housing arrangement where you currently live. Do you and/or your spouse/partner:

Question GH2N. Did you move into your current home after October 2016?

Question GH3. How satisfied are you with each of the following aspects of your housing situation?

Question GH10. In deciding where to live, how important is it to you to have convenient access to each of the following places in your local community?

Rent Section

Question R1. Please select all the reasons below for why you rent your home rather than own your home.

Question R4. Before your recent move, did you own your previous home?

Question R5A. An eviction is when your landlord forces you to move when you don't want to. Were you, or a person you were staying with, evicted from your home?

Question R5B. Did each of the following contribute to your moving from your previous home?

Question R5C. Did each of the following contribute to your moving from your previous home?

Question R7. In the past 12 months, have you experienced any problems with your house or apartment that you felt needed to be fixed, such as a leak or a broken appliance?

Question R8. Did you contact your landlord about the problem with your house or apartment that needed to be fixed?

Question R8A. After you contacted your landlord about the problem with your house or apartment, how much difficulty did you have getting them to fix the problem?

Question R3. About how much do you (and/or your spouse and/or your partner) pay for rent each month?

Mortgage Section

Question M4. About how much is your total monthly mortgage payment (i.e., the amount you send to the bank)?

Banking Section

Question BK1. Do you (and/or your spouse and/or your partner) currently have a checking, savings, or money market account?

Question BK2. In the past 12 months, did you (and/or your spouse and/or your partner):

Question BK11. In the past 12 months, did you (and/or your spouse and/or your partner) access a bank account in any of the following ways?

Question BK20. In the past 12 months, have you (and/or your spouse and/or your partner) used your mobile phone to:

Question BK40. In the past 12 months, have you had difficulty getting money out of your bank account for any of the following reasons? (Please check all that apply.)

Question BK42. Which of these would you say was your most serious problem?

Question BK44. Did you contact your bank about this problem?

Credit Application Section

Question A6. If you were to apply for a credit card today, how confident are you that your application would be approved?

Question A0. In the last 12 months, have you (or your spouse/or your partner) applied for any credit (such as a credit card, higher credit card limit, mortgage, refinance, student loan, personal loan, or other loan)?

Question A0B. Was there a time in the past 12 months that you (or your spouse/or your partner) desired credit but chose not to submit a credit application?

Question A1. In the past 12 months, please tell us if each of the following has or has not happened to you (or your spouse/or your partner):

Question A2. You indicated that you (or your spouse/or your partner) desired credit in the past 12 months but did not submit a credit application. Was this because you thought that you might be turned down or denied credit?

Credit Condition Section

Question C2A. Do you have at least one credit card?

Question C3. Do you currently have any outstanding unpaid credit card debt?

Question C3A. Do you (and your spouse/and your partner) currently have more, less, or about the same amount of credit card debt than you had 12 months ago?

Question C4A. In the past 12 months, how frequently have you carried an unpaid balance on one or more of your credit cards?

Education Section

Question ED0. What is the highest level of school you have completed or the highest degree you have received?

Question D1G. Are you currently enrolled as a student?

Question ED0B. What type of program are you currently pursuing?

Question ED0D. Have you ever enrolled in an educational degree program beyond high school?

Question ED1. Which one of the following broad categories best describes your current/most recent educational program?

Question ED4. In what year did you last attend this educational program?

Question ED5. Overall, how would you say the lifetime financial benefits of your current/most recent educational program compare to its financial costs?

Question ED6. If you could go back and make your education decisions again, would you have done any of these things?

Question ED9. In what year did you receive your most recent degree?

Question ED10. Overall, how would you say the lifetime financial benefits of your associate degree/bachelor's degree program compare to its financial costs:

Question ED11. If you could go back and make decisions regarding your most recent education program again, would you have done any of these things:

Question ED0C. Have you ever enrolled in a 4-year bachelor's degree program?

Question ED4A. In what year did you last attend the bachelor's degree program that you were enrolled in?

Question ED4B. How likely is it that you will return to school and complete the program that you started but did not complete?

Question ED13. Which of the following are reasons why you did not attend college?

Question ED14. Which of the following are reasons why you did not complete your college degree?

Student Loans Section

Question SL1. Do you currently have student loan debt or owe any money used to pay for your own education? Please include any loans on which you are a co-signer that were used to pay for your education beyond high school (including student loans, home equity loans, or credit cards paid off over time).

Question SL2. Think about the money you currently owe for your own education. Is the money you owe for that education a student loan, a home equity loan, a credit card debt, or some other type of loan? If you have multiple loans, please select all that apply.

Question SL3. Thinking specifically about the money that you owe for your own education, please tell us the total amount that you currently owe on these loans.

Question SL4. Approximately how much is the total monthly payment that you are required to make on the loans from your education? Please only include the amount that you are paying, and not money that is paid by others on your behalf.

Question SL6. Are you behind on payments or in collections for one or more of the loans from your own education?

Question SL7. Did you borrow money or take out any loans to pay for your own education that you have since repaid?

Question SL8. Still thinking about the money you borrowed to pay for your own education, did you borrow money for each of the following educational programs (including any loans which you have completely repaid or for education you did not complete)?

Question SL10. Do you currently owe any money used to pay for your spouse's/partner's education? Please only include any loans on which you are a co-signer that were used to pay for their education beyond high school (including student loans, home equity loans, or credit cards paid off over time).

Question SL11. Do you currently owe any money used to pay for your child's or grandchild's education? Please only include any loans on which you are a co-signer that were used to pay for their education beyond high school (including student loans, home equity loans, or credit cards paid off over time).

Question SL12. Is the money you owe for your child's or grandchild's education a student loan, home equity loan, credit card debt, or some other type of loan? If you have multiple loans, please select all that apply.

Retirement Planning Section

Question D1I. Do you consider yourself to be retired?

Question K0. Do you think that your retirement savings plan is currently on track?

Question K2. Do you currently have each of the following types of retirement savings?

Question K20. Approximately how much money do you currently have saved for retirement?

Question DC4. How comfortable are you with making your own investment decisions in your retirement accounts?

Question K5A. In the past 12 months, have you borrowed money from or cashed out (permanently withdrawn) money from any of your retirement savings accounts?

Question K8A. At what age did you retire?

Question K9. How important were each of the following in your decision to retire at the age that you did?

Income and Consumption Section

Question I0. In the past 12 months, did you (and/or your spouse/partner) receive any income from the following sources:

Question I0A. Did you (and/or your spouse/partner) receive any income from any source in the past 12 months?

Question I40. Which of the following categories best describes the total income that you (and your spouse/and your partner) received from all sources, before taxes and deductions, in the past 12 months?

Question I41. In the past 12 months, have you (and/or your spouse and/or your partner) received any of the following?

Question I9. In the past 12 months, which one of the following best describes your (and your spouse's/part-ner's) income?

Question I12. Because your income varies, have you (and your spouse/partner) struggled to pay your bills in the past 12 months?

Question I20. In the past month, would you say that your (and your spouse's/partner's) total spending was:

Financial Support from Outside the Home Section

Question FS10. Does anyone living outside of your household (such as a parent, child, other relatives, or friends) provide you with regular financial support? This may include cash or help with rent, groceries, education expenses, student loans, car payments, or other expenses.

Question FS20. Do you receive each of the following types of financial support from people living outside of your household?

Question FS30. Who outside of your household provides you with regular financial support or helps you with bill payments?

Question FS40. Do you provide regular financial support to anyone living outside of your household (such as a parent, child, other relatives, or friends)? This may include cash or help with rent, groceries, education expenses, student loans, car payments, or other expenses.

Emergency Fund Section

Question EF1. Have you set aside emergency or rainy day funds that would cover your expenses for 3 months in case of sickness, job loss, economic downturn, or other emergencies?

Question EF2. If you were to lose your main source of income (e.g., job, government benefits), could you cover your expenses for 3 months by borrowing money, using savings, selling assets, or borrowing from friends/family?

Question EF3. Suppose that you have an emergency expense that costs $400. Based on your current financial situation, how would you pay for this expense? If you would use more than one method to cover this expense, please select all that apply.

Question EF5A. Which best describes your ability to pay all of your bills in full this month?

Question EF5B. How would a $400 emergency expense that you had to pay impact your ability to pay your other bills this month?

Question EF6A. Are you expecting to be unable to pay or only make a partial payment on each of the following bills this month?

Question EF6B. Which of the following bills would you likely skip paying, or make only a partial payment on, if you had a $400 emergency expense that you had to pay?

Health and Insurance Section

Question E1. During the past 12 months, was there a time when you needed any of the following, but went without because you couldn't afford it?

Question E2. During the past 12 months, have you had any unexpected major medical expenses that you had to pay out of pocket because they were not completely paid for by insurance?

Question E2A. Approximately how much did you pay out of pocket for unexpected major medical expenses in the past 12 months?

Question E2B. Do you currently have any debt from the unexpected major medical expenses that you had in the past 12 months?

Question E4. Are you currently covered by any of the following types of health insurance or health coverage plans?

Question E5. Do you personally know someone who has been addicted to opioids or prescription painkillers?

Childhood Background Section

Question CH1. When you were growing up (under age 17), how frequently did you worry about each of the following?

Question CH2. What is the highest level of education that your mother completed?

Question CH3. What is the highest level of education that your father completed?

Financial Literacy Section

Question FL0. Some people are fully prepared to take financial risks when they save or make investments, while others try to avoid taking financial risks. On a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 is not at all willing to take risks and 10 is very willing to take risks, what number would you (and/or your spouse/partner) be on the scale?

Question FL1. Do you think the following statement is true or false? "Housing prices in the U.S. can never go down."

Question FL2. Do you think the following statement is true or false? "Buying a single company's stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund."

Question FL3. Considering a long time period (for example, 10 or 20 years), which asset described below normally gives the highest returns?

Question FL4. Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1% per year and inflation was 2% per year. After 1 year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?

Question FL5. Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2% per year. After 5 years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?

Respondent Demographics

Summary statistics for demographics