31% of Young Adults Have Dabbled in Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is making inroads into the financial affairs of the American public, especially among young adults. Overall, 16 percent of people aged 18 or older say they have ever invested in, traded, or used a cryptocurrency, according to a Pew Research Center survey. This figure is up from 1 percent in 2015 (when Pew asked exclusively about Bitcoin). The share of adults who have ever invested/traded/used a cryptocurrency is highest among young adults...

Percent who have ever invested/traded/used cryptocurrency, 2021

Total 18-plus: 16%

Aged 18 to 29: 31%

Aged 30 to 49: 21%

Aged 50 to 64: 8%

Aged 65-plus: 3%

Men are more than twice as likely as women to have ever invested/traded/used cryptocurrency—22 percent of men versus 10 percent of women. Young men are most likely to have done so. Among men aged 18 to 29, 43 percent have dabbled in cryptocurrency.

Source: Pew Research Center, 16% of Americans Say They Have Ever Invested in, Traded, or Used Cryptocurrency

He Said She Said

Who is the most financially knowledgeable person in your household? Married couples were asked this question in FINRA's 2015 National Financial Capability Study, and the results reveal disagreement over who is top dog—especially among Millennials.

The 53 percent majority of Millennial wives say they are the most financially knowledgeable person in their household. But so do 72 percent of Millennial husbands...

Percent of wives (and husbands) who say they are the most financially knowledgeable person
Millennials: 53% (72%)
Gen Xers: 48% (68%)
Boomers: 40% (65%)

Despite evidence of potential marital conflict, there is plenty of good news in the FINRA report. Financial confidence is rising among Millennial and Gen X women. The percentage of Millennial wives who regard themselves as the most financially knowledgeable person in their household was a lower 47 percent when FINRA first asked the question in 2009. Gen X wives, too, are feeling more confident. Only 42 percent regarded themselves as the most knowledgeable person in their household in 2009. Among Boomer wives, the level of confidence was the same in 2015 as in 2009.

Source: FINRA, Gender, Generation and Financial Knowledge: A Six Year Perspective

Who Carries Cash?

How many people are carrying cash in their pockets, wallets, or purses when away from home? According to a Gallup survey, only 54 percent of adults are carrying cash. Among 18-to-29-year-olds, just 42 percent have cash on them when away from home...

Percent who carry cash
Aged 18 to 29: 42%
Aged 30 to 49: 54%
Aged 50 to 64: 55%
Aged 65-plus: 62%

Young adults are also the ones who feel most comfortable without cash—56 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds are comfortable going cashless versus only 32 percent of people aged 65 or older.

Source: Gallup, Most Americans Foresee Death of Cash in Their Lifetime

What Do College Students Carry in their Wallets?

They carry cash, according to a Sallie Mae survey of college students aged 18 to 24. Eighty-six percent of students say they have cash in their wallet. Almost as many—85 percent—carry a debit card. A smaller 56 percent have a credit card.

The Sallie Mae survey probes the financial attitudes, behavior, and knowledge of students at technical schools, two-year colleges, and four-year institutions. According to the survey, 52 percent have student loans, 23 percent have credit card debt, 13 percent have vehicle loans, 9 percent have a mortgage, and 7 percent have medical debt.

Twenty-four percent of college students say they are excellent money managers, and another 41 percent say they are good at it. Only 29 percent say they are just average, and 6 percent rate themselves as not very good or poor. Interestingly, those who consider themselves excellent at managing their money are less likely than those who rate their skills more modestly to correctly answer a three-question financial literacy test.

Source: Sallie Mae, Majoring in Money: How American College Students Manage Their Finances

Most Millennials Say Finances Are Improving

Thirty-six percent of Americans aged 18 or older think their financial situation is improving, according to the 2014 General Social Survey. This figure is higher than it was in 2010, when only 25 percent felt things were getting better. Older Americans are least likely to feel this way (15 percent), largely because most are on fixed incomes. Young adults are most likely to feel upbeat. The majority of Millennials in 2014 said their finances were getting better...

Percent of Millennials who say their financial situation is getting better
2014: 54.1%
2012: 39.1%
2010: 34.2%

Note: Millennials were aged 20 to 37 in 2014.
Source: Demo Memo analysis of the General Social Survey

Americans So-So on Financial Literacy

In a worldwide survey of financial literacy, the United States scored only so-so for a major advanced economy. Fifty-seven percent of Americans correctly answered three of four financial literacy questions: understanding interest rates, compound interest, inflation, and risk diversification. Among the 144 nation's included in the survey, the U.S. ranked 14th. Norway was number one, with 71 percent of  its residents able to answer three of the four questions. Yemen was last, with only 13 percent answering three questions correctly.

Within the United States, financial literacy varies by demographic characteristic. Men are more literate than women (62 versus 52 percent). The middle-aged (aged 35 to 54) are more literate than younger or older adults (65 versus 57 percent), and the richest 60 percent of Americans are more literate than the poorest 40 percent (64 versus 47 percent).

Source: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services Global Financial Literacy Survey

12% Run Out of Money

How many of the oldest Americans run out of money before they die? One in eight, according to a study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Using data from the University of Michigan's Health and Retirement Study, EBRI researchers examined the assets of households in which a household member aged 50 or older had died between the 2010 and 2012 surveys. By age of the household member who died, here is the percentage of households with zero non-housing assets in 2010—before the death of the household member...

Percentage of households with non-housing assets = zero before death
Aged 50 to 64: 37.2%
Aged 65 to 74: 25.3%
Aged 75 to 84: 18.5%
Aged 85-plus: 20.6%

The researchers also looked at total assets to determine the percentage of households with no assets at all before the death of the household member. Here are those numbers by age of the deceased...

Percentage of households with total assets = zero before death
Aged 50 to 64: 29.8%
Aged 65 to 74: 15.8%
Aged 75 to 84: 10.5%
Aged 85-plus: 12.2%

Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute, A Look at the End-of-Life Financial Situation in America

How Many $1 Bills?

Economists study many things and one of them is cash, tracing its flow into and out of your wallet. They collect information about how we use cash through the Diary of Consumer Payment Choice, in which a representative sample of the public records its purchases for three days. The survey collects information on how much cash people have at the beginning of each day (including cash denominations) and how they pay for purchases throughout the day. Here are a few of the findings from the 2012 survey...

Percentage of consumers...
With cash at the beginning of the day: 81%
With a $1 bill at the beginning of the day: 64%
Who made a cash transaction during the day: 50%

At the start of the day, consumers had a median of two $1 bills. That's not some random number. The Fed analysis finds that we actively manage our $1 bills. We don't want too many, but we also don't want to be without. The sweet spot—the target number of $1 bills we want in our wallet—is between two and three.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, U.S. Consumer Holdings and Use of $1 Bills

Financial Satisfaction Is No Guarantee

If you feel like your finances are in good shape, you might be in danger. That's because, more often than not, feelings don't reflect reality. According to a study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, "financial satisfaction is a poor indicator of financial well-being and can actually impede the achievement of financial well-being."

In the study, the researchers compared survey respondents' self-reported financial satisfaction with their actual long-term financial well-being (defined as having adequate medical and life insurance, saving for college and retirement, and paying off student loans and mortgages). They found a disconnect between feelings and reality. The feeling of financial satisfaction comes from day-to-day money matters (such as being employed, able to pay bills, not feeling burdened by debt, and having access to emergency cash) rather than long-term financial health. "Given this intensely present-minded focus of subjective assessments, satisfaction is a poor measure of financial well-being," the researchers concluded.

What can be done to eliminate this blind spot and improve the average American's financial security? The researchers suggest "greater use of defaults or mandates, or the transfer of responsibility from households to governments or employers, to reduce the nation's significantly increased reliance on individual household decision-making for basic financial well-being."

Source: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, What Do Subjective Assessments of Financial Well-Being Reflect?

Financial Status of Baby Boomers

Among people aged 50 to 64, fewer than one in four feels financially secure. These are the responses of a representative sample of the age group to the question, "What is your household's overall financial situation?"

23% say they are financial secure
27% say they have enough money to get by
22% say they're doing okay, but wish they had saved more
22% say they are struggling to make things work out financially
7% say they are in poor financial shape

Source: AARP, Americans Aged 50+ and Stress: An AARP Bulletin Survey