While adults have always worried about having enough retirement savings and emergency funds, there is a growing fear among young adults around becoming homeless. Acorns, a leading saving and investing app, today released its 2024 Money Matters Report™, shedding light on the current financial concerns gripping Americans. The report reveals approximately a third of Gen Z and Millennials (29% and 32% respectively) responded that they fear their financial situation could lead to experiencing homelessness, which is nearly three times more than Boomers and older respondents (11%).
The major drivers behind this fear, and the top three biggest financial concerns among adults, are cost of living, inflation and debt. Additionally, over a quarter of Americans surveyed (27%) have never had an emergency fund. Noah Kerner, Acorns CEO, explains that this fear is understandable. “If you’re afraid you might lose your job, or not make enough income to combat inflation, and can’t borrow money at reasonable rates, then it doesn’t seem out of bounds to be worried about not having a home.” In fact, The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) counted 653,104 homeless Americans in its 2023 point-in-time report, which measures homelessness across the US on a single night each winter. That’s a 12.1% increase from the same report in 2022.
Adding to these financial stressors are concerns around macro issues. More than half (52%) surveyed expressed concern about the impact of global war and conflict on their financial security, with 25% saying they are “extremely concerned” and only 8% saying they were “not concerned at all.” The rise of AI and climate change also impact financial security, with 39% and 42% respectively citing financial security concerns.
“Between global conflicts, AI and climate change, we’re in a time that feels uncertain and unstable. These problems are coming at us from all different directions and its a natural outcome for people to have a heightened degree of anxiety.” Kerner says.
While the 2024 Money Matters Report shows a rise in uncertainty, it also validates the impact of early financial literacy education on future financial security, with two-thirds of Americans reporting they’d be better off today if they had more financial education earlier in life. Further, Acorns customers, and people who use financial planning tools like Acorns and/or financial advisors, are significantly more optimistic about their expected future financial security than the broader survey pool.
Almost a quarter (23%) of American adults say they did not receive any financial literacy education as children, and two-thirds (66%) of people who didn’t receive a lot of financial literacy education think their financial security would be better off today if they’d received more financial literacy education as kids. Gen Z (72%) and Millennials (75%) are significantly more likely to feel that they would be better off today, which is especially interesting given that these generations also said they received more financial literacy education than older generations.
Kerner believes financial education is critical because knowledge gives you power. “Since it’s not being taught in schools, most grow up without the necessary foundation to manage their personal finances.” He explains this is why there is such an emphasis of education and advice at Acorns. “We look to educate at the moment of decision making, so our users engage in active learning.”
According to the report, these anxieties will continue to loom, with only 35% of those surveyed projected that they would be more financially secure next year than they are currently, while most people (44%) expect their financial security to be about the same.
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