A new financial survey seeks to gather detailed insights about the spending habits of young Americans aged 18 to 28. Survey respondents will have an opportunity to highlight their distinct approaches to financial management. They could lay out how to implement things like “soft spending” or “cash stuffing.” The survey invites you to provide your average weekly or monthly costs. You can opt out of providing personally identifiable information such as your age and profession.
When designing the survey, we knew that we wanted to gather as much detailed expense data as possible from respondents. Respondents must be prepared to give detailed expense itemizations. Just like we can track our spending every week or every month, they can now start to really do that by category. This level of detail will help researchers understand how young individuals allocate their finances across various sectors, such as housing, food, transportation, and entertainment.
While not required, participants are allowed to share information about their income. The survey gives respondents the opportunity to paint a more complete picture of their financial state without requiring disclosure of sensitive information. People will have the option to upload a photo to help illustrate their answers, but this is completely optional. The same goes for photo uploads, which are capped at 5.7 MB.
For participants who are fluent with privacy, the survey includes a SecureDrop service, enabling participants to submit information securely and anonymously. Respondents need to obtain consent before listing any names in their response. This phase is a critical one in protecting respondents’ confidentiality across the data collection process.
This survey hones in on a next-gen workforce grappling with unique economic realities and priorities. Our goal is to find those emerging trends that can help shape the next important economic or financial conversation. By participating, young Americans can contribute valuable data that may impact financial literacy programs and resources tailored to their demographic.