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Small business is important to Central Oregon, and to Mid Oregon. Find tips and resources for business, and information about Mid Oregon’s commercial services and business members.
FINANCIAL WELL-BEING CONCERN, OPTIMISM for AMERICANS: NEFE®
Denver—The National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®) continues to monitor the condition of Americans by polling on financial well-being indicators at key moments in time since the COVID-19 crisis began. NEFE’s recent survey is the latest in a series spanning a 16-month period that overlaps the pandemic in the U.S. While not fully comparative due to adjustments in some questions, the timing of the polls (June 2021 , December 2020, September 2020 and April 2020) mirror times in which many Americans were weighing their level of financial stress and making important decisions about their finances, directly or indirectly related to the pandemic.
“It is our duty as champions of effective financial education to identify how Americans are feeling about their economic present and future at key moments in time. Our polling supplements the other work we do to assist policymakers and practitioners in our field,” says Billy Hensley, Ph.D., president and CEO of NEFE. “These latest results, combined with trends identified in previous polling, highlight the need for more diligent work to aid the plight of those most in need of financial well-being resources and interventions, including financial education.”
More Are Feeling Better Compared to End of 2020
Overall, recent polling indicates more Americans are feeling better about the quality of their financial life now, relative to their expectations, compared to the end of 2020. The proportion of Americans reporting feeling that their financial life is “worse than [they] expected it to be” decreased from 32 percent in December 2020 to 23 percent in June 2021, while the proportion reporting “better than what [they] expected it to be” increased from 15 percent in December 2020 to 27 percent in June 2021. In June 2021, over three quarters (77 percent) of Americans said the quality of their financial life is what they expected or better. The latest poll was commissioned at the end of June 2021 and conducted online by The Harris Poll.
Through further analysis, 85 percent of Americans did confirm some part of their personal finances is causing them stress right now, with the most common concerns being “having enough in emergency savings” (37 percent); “having enough saved for retirement” (31 percent); “paying health care bills” (22 percent); “job security” (among those employed, 22 percent); “paying off/down credit card debt” (21 percent); and “paying rent or mortgage” (21 percent). After combining several stressors related to savings and paying bills, 56 percent report that having enough saved is a top stressor and 44 percent report that paying bills is a top stressor. However, among these top stressors, the only financial stressor with an increase from previous polls was having enough saved for retirement.
When asked how concerned they are right now about their personal financial situation, a larger proportion of Americans are now reporting “not at all/not that concerned” than in 2020 polls, and a smaller proportion are reporting “extremely/very concerned” while “somewhat concerned” remains relatively constant. [In the April 2020 and September 2020 administration, the question started with “Considering the COVID-19 outbreak,” which was omitted from the June 2021 administration cycle; for this reason, use caution when comparing across survey administration cycles.]
Over One Quarter Worried About Future Financial Well-Being
When individuals consider their future financial situation, over one quarter (29 percent) think they will feel “very/somewhat worried” about their financial situation 12 months from now, while over two in five (42 percent) think they will feel “very/somewhat optimistic.”
- Other highlights from the recent poll include:
- Seven in 10 (70 percent) have made financial adjustments due to the COVID-19 outbreak, such as cutting monthly expenses (29 percent) and putting off major financial decisions (20 percent).
- More than one quarter (27 percent) are increasing contributions to their emergency/retirement savings, other savings or investments due to the pandemic, while 21 percent are tapping into emergency savings or borrowing against retirement savings.
- Nearly half (47 percent) admit to living paycheck to paycheck, compared to 52 percent in December 2020.
- Over one in 10 (14 percent) are looking for a new job or are seeking additional work due to the pandemic.
- Nearly one in 10 (9 percent) plan to defer bill/debt payments and 13 percent have taken on more credit card debt, due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Over two in five (44 percent) Americans have provided monetary/non-monetary assistance to family or friends due to the COVID-19 outbreak, with 17 percent saying the non-monetary support is ongoing and 13 percent saying the monetary support is ongoing. Among those providing assistance, 83 percent say it has caused at least some strain on their own finances.
- Nearly one third (31 percent) of Americans say they have received monetary/non-monetary assistance from friends or family due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Additional analysis of the June 2021 poll’s demographic breakdown finds:
- Hispanics (60 percent) and Black non-Hispanic Americans (51 percent) are more likely to say they have provided monetary/non-monetary assistance than White non-Hispanic Americans (38 percent). The difference is most notable in the provision of one-time, non-monetary assistance (24 percent each of Hispanics and Black non-Hispanic Americans vs. 12 percent of White non-Hispanic).
- Nearly six in 10 (59 percent) Americans with children under age 18 living in the household were likely to report providing monetary/non-monetary assistance, compared to 35 percent of Americans without children under age 18 in the household.
“This data provide an interesting snapshot due to both its results and timing. It came as the economy was steadily improving, before mainstream discussions of COVID-19 variants, the need for additional virus prevention policies and decisions on whether the eviction moratorium was still needed. Americans were potentially the most optimistic they had been in over a year about the direction of their financial well-being, and we were able to capture that sentiment,” Hensley adds.
Read more on the latest financial well-being poll and view charts here, and view past well-being polls here.
Survey Methodology
The June 2021 survey was conducted online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of NEFE between June 28-30, 2021, among 2,073 adults ages 18 and older. The December 2020 survey was conducted online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of NEFE between December 10-14, 2020, among 2,064 adults ages 18 and older. The September 2020 survey was conducted online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of NEFE between September 14-16, 2020, among 2,049 adults ages 18 and older. The April 2020 survey was conducted online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of NEFE between April 7-9, 2020, among 2,018 adults ages 18 and older. Results were weighted for age within gender, region, race/ethnicity, income and education where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
About NEFE
The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) champions effective financial education. NEFE is the independent, centralizing voice providing leadership, research and collaboration to advance financial well-being. As one of the first organizations to embark on the mission of wholly dedicating its efforts on improving the effectiveness of financial education, NEFE continues its legacy of strengthening action-oriented research agendas, mobilizing intermediaries, and creating better solutions for researchers, educators, practitioners and policymakers. For more information, visit www.nefe.org.
Ways To See If Your Data Has Been Stolen
With all the data breaches, whether by intrusion or accident lately, it’s likely your information was exposed somehow to someone you didn’t intend. After all, the marketing company Exactis, exposed hundreds of traits on us in 350 million records. Yahoo let out email addresses and passwords on billions of people, and of course who can forget the massive breach of Equifax just last year that resulted in sensitive data being let go on nearly half the population of this country. There is a lot of information that gets leaked on us and the more the bad actors have on us, the more targeted their phishing campaigns can be. So, it is a good idea to just check and find out if your credentials or online accounts have been found on the dark web as a result of these or any number of data breaches to stay a tiny step ahead of the hackers. See if your data has been stolen.
See If Your Data Has Been Stolen
While it normally isn’t recommended to use browser extensions or add-ons, there is one for Google Chrome that can check your passwords against the site HaveIBeenPwned. It’s called PassProtect. You can get it from the Chrome Web Store.
Firefox has something similar called Firefox Monitor, which should be available to all very soon. This is actually built into the browser, making it a bit more secure than Google’s version. It uses the same site to check for your credentials using various queries that keeps your information safe. Try updating your Firefox browser and it may already be included. If not, it will be soon.
You can also go directly to the website HaveIBeenPwned to see if your email address has been located as a result of various breaches.
Changing Your Email Password
It’s always wise to change your email password from time to time. Make sure to use strong ones and include special characters, upper and lowercase letters, as well as a number or two. In fact, each online account needs its own unique password. And yes, it’s getting a little overwhelming to remember them all, but it is really needed these days. Think about how many you’d have to change if you used the same one as what you used for your Yahoo email and it got stolen. Whew! That may take a while.
It is important to change them periodically too. Cybercriminals use a technique called a brute force attack using automated tools to pound on websites using credential sets to find out which ones work. They are very successful doing this. If they get one and you use it elsewhere, they have it for those accounts too.
Remembering Your Passwords
There are ways to help you remember your passwords. You can keep a written list and tuck it away in a drawer that you keep locked when you’re not nearby. It’s pretty old-school, but it’s better than typing it and keeping it on your computer. You can type a list and use password clues rather than writing out your passwords. Still risky, but better than using the same password on multiple accounts.
You can use a password manager. However, heed cautionary advice with these. While they are getting better at protecting your passwords by strengthening their encryption and/or employing multi-factor authentication, there is still a risk that if a hacker gets into those companies’ networks, they can get all of your passwords.
Make changing your passwords a ritual, like switching out your smoke detector batteries on January 1 every year; only do it more often. That’s really a great way to protect your information and keep the hackers on their toes, especially if you see if your data has been stolen.
Keep up to date on your online safety through Stickley on Security on MidOregon.com.
BEFORE YOU BUY A NEW CAR: 3 Things You Need to Know
There are many things to consider before purchasing ANY car, but a NEW car might spark particular questions. There are pros and cons to buying new cars, just as there are pros and cons to buying used cars. You should figure out a few things before you buy a new car.
Ask Yourself Why Before You Buy A New Car
First off, when purchasing any vehicle, ask yourself “Why am I buying this car?” Is it for daily use, will you need a lot of storage space, seating space? Make sure the makes and models you narrow your search down to are practical reflections of how you will use the car.
You may love the look of a larger vehicle, but if you don’t have five children, you might not need that much space and that particular car may not be right for your daily commute and errands.
How Does It Fit For You
After you’ve considered the personal aspects of which car to buy, move on to the less subjective parts of the process:
1. Depreciation
Most cars depreciate at about 15% per year. With new cars, there is a 20% depreciation rate as soon as you drive off the lot. You want to consider this before you decide to buy a new car, especially if you can’t put much money down as a down payment. Chances are you’ll be upside down on your car loan almost immediately if you’re financing the entire cost.
2. Cost-to-own
Also, consider the true cost to own the car you’re eyeing. These costs include insurance, fuel, maintenance, and more. Maintenance costs vary by manufacturer and model. Do your research—some manufacturers have better reputations than others. Some new cars even come with “free” maintenance plans for the first couple of years or for a certain number of miles.
3. How much can you afford?
Don’t guide yourself solely by what the dealership is willing to lend you. And, don’t be blindsided by an attractive low monthly payment—oftentimes tied to a super-long loan term. Consider all aspects of financing—the total amount you are going to end up paying for that vehicle when it’s all said and done. Before you buy a new car, that’s what matters.
Options and Resources
Mid Oregon is presenting a free webinar on Tuesday, October 19, called “Get the Best Car Deal”. Register for the 7 p.m. webinar. Learn more about other Mid Oregon financial education webinars.
Are you in the market for a car? In today’s environment, is it more important than ever to make a good purchase decision.
Find out how to save money and remain in control of your car deal. Learn how to determine how much car you can afford, deal with dealers, negotiate the best car price, benefit from buying used and figure out finance options.
For more information on finding the right new car for you, researching options and available local inventory, take a look at our AutoSmart webpage today!
Read other articles about car buying and auto loans.
And then visit Mid Oregon Credit Union before you even step on the lot. As a not-for-profit financial cooperative, we can approve you for an auto loan that fits your circumstances—and your budget. We won’t put you into a loan you can’t afford, and we’re happy to explain everything to you away from the high-pressure of the dealership. If you have a trade-in, we can help you determine a value for that, too. Or, call us at (541) 382-1795 or email to beheard@midoregon.com.