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How Money is Spent by Different Income Groups

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How Money is Spent by Different Income Groups

How Money is Spent by Different Income Groups

If you started making twice the amount of money that you do today, how would your spending habits change?

Consider if the tables were turned, and you instead were reduced to half of your current income. Where would you likely make cuts to spending?

The reality is that the money you have coming in has big implications on how expenses get prioritized – and so it’s interesting to see how people in different income brackets allocate what they have.

Visualizing Spending

Today’s series of graphics come to us from data visualization expert Nathan Yau at FlowingData, and they show how money is being spent by different income groups.

It uses data from the 2016 Consumer Expenditure Survey, an annual survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, embedded words in the graphics come from Yau, as he makes observations on the data.

To Buy or Rent a House?

How do income groups differ in spending for housing?

Housing expenditures

Housing Expenses

How is money spent on utilities, furniture, and other household expenses?

Household expenditures

Food Expenses

Do income groups spend more eating at home, or eating out?

Food expenditures

Travel and Transportation

The cost of vehicles, gas, and other travel expenses.

Transportation expenditures

Health Expenditures

What about money spent on health insurance, services, or drugs?

Health expenditures

Pensions and Social Security

Lastly, the money going to retirement, pension, social security, and insurance plans.

Pensions expenditures

For more data analysis, as well as many other great visualizations on income, we highly recommend checking out FlowingData.

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Personal Finance

Ranked: What People Value Most in a Financial Advisor

Positive reviews and recommendations are some of the least important factors—so what do people look for in a financial advisor?

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A bar chart of what people value most in a financial advisor, with the specific qualities removed to encourage people to click into the full article.

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The following content is sponsored by Morningstar

Ranked: What People Value Most in a Financial Advisor

Are advisors putting their focus where it matters? You might think that positive reviews and recommendations would be a top consideration for people choosing a financial advisor. However, other qualities appear to be much more important.

This graphic uses data from Morningstar’s Voice of the Advisor report to outline what people value most in a financial advisor. 

The Qualities Investors Value

Morningstar surveyed 400 people: 100 Caucasian women, 150 women of color, and 150 men of color. The values below show how often people chose an item as most or least important when working with an advisor.

QualityMost ImportantLeast Important
Expertise and knowledge in financial planning and investments60%11%
Personalized financial advice that meets my specific goals and needs54%16%
Ability to understand my risk tolerance and appropriately align my investments47%17%
Specialization in specific financial situations, such as retirement planning45%17%
Ability to communicate complex financial concepts in an understandable way42%22%
Transparent fee structure and pricing for my advisor’s services42%22%
Trust and rapport established during the initial meetings with my advisor36%24%
Ability to incorporate investment options that reflect my values22%41%
Positive online reviews or ratings about my advisor’s services22%46%
Recommendations from friends or family who had a positive experience with my advisor20%47%
Commitment to diversity and inclusion, making me feel comfortable and respected20%47%
Recommendations from other professionals, such as accountants or attorneys19%50%
Shares a similar background or cultural understanding10%68%

Participants were asked the following question: “On each screen, we will show you 3 items to think about when working with a financial advisor. Select which one is most important and which one is the least important of the items. You will see more than one screen and items may appear more than once.”

Enjoying this content? Dive into more insights in the Voice of the Advisor Report:

Report cover titled Four Opportunities to Elevate the Advisor-Client Relationship through Personalization with additional report pages shown. There is also a red button that says Click for exclusive insights.

Even among a survey pool that was mostly people of color, the majority of respondents didn’t think a commitment to diversity or a shared background were important.

Instead, three of the top four factors were related to personalization.

Personalization: A Key Quality in a Financial Advisor

People cared deeply about personalization regardless of gender and race. It was even more important to those with more than $250,000 in assets, suggesting that personalization may become more critical as a person’s portfolio value increases.

Even investors not currently working with an advisor and non-investors noted that personalization would be a top quality they would look for in a financial advisor.

Within personalization, people noted risk management was a very important element. Financial advisors can highlight their ability to tailor financial plans based on each person’s risk tolerance in order to attract clients.

Looking for tips on how to grow your advisory business? Get insights on what investors want, and how other advisors are evolving, in Morningstar’s Voice of the Advisor report.

Report cover titled Four Opportunities to Elevate the Advisor-Client Relationship through Personalization with additional report pages shown. There is also a yellow button that says get the free report now.

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