Personal Finance
Visualizing How the Pandemic is Impacting American Wallets
A Snapshot of U.S. Personal Finances During the Pandemic
If you’ve felt that you’ve needed to penny-pinch more during the pandemic, you’re not alone.
In the past seven months, 42% of U.S. consumers have missed paying one or more bills, while over a third (39%) believe they will need to skip payments in the future.
This visualization breaks down the state of U.S. consumers’ personal finances during the COVID-19 era, and projects into future concerns around savings.
Pandemic Personal Finances: Key Takeaways
Based on data from the doxoINSIGHTS Bills Pay Impact Report across 1,568 sampled households, three themes emerge:
- 57% of consumers’ incomes have taken a hit in the past seven months
- 70% have delayed discretionary spending on big purchases
- 75% continue to be very worried about their future financial health
How do these anxieties translate into day-to-day consequences?
Pandemic Postpones Bill Payments
Unsurprisingly, worrying about personal finances also means that more Americans are deferring their bill payments during the pandemic. However, these vary depending on the type of bill, total amount, and immediate urgency.
Over a quarter (27%) of U.S. consumers report having missed a bill on their auto loans, followed by 26% for utilities and 25% on cable or internet costs.
The average cost of the above three bill types is $258—but that’s still a fraction of the two most expensive bills, mortgage or rent, which come in at $1,268 and $1,023 respectively.
Bill Type | $ Value | % Missed |
---|---|---|
Auto loans | $374 | 27% |
Utilities | $290 | 26% |
Cable/ Internet | $110 | 25% |
Rent | $1,023 | 20% |
Mobile phone | $88 | 19% |
Mortgage | $1,268 | 17% |
Alarm/ Security | $76 | 17% |
Auto insurance | $181 | 15% |
Dental insurance | $25 | 14% |
Life insurance | $76 | 13% |
Health insurance | $94 | 10% |
Prioritizing Payments
While 20% of Americans say they’ve missed a rent payment over the past few months, what’s even more alarming is that 28% of U.S. consumers believe they will most likely skip paying rent in the future.
Bill Type | % Likely to Skip in Future |
---|---|
Cable/Â Internet | 29% |
Utilities | 28% |
Rent | 28% |
Auto loans | 26% |
Mobile phone | 26% |
Mortgage | 21% |
Auto insurance | 21% |
Alarm/ Security | 19% |
Dental insurance | 16% |
Life insurance | 17% |
Health insurance | 15% |
Another clear trend is that many Americans are prioritizing insurance payments, particularly health insurance. This is good news during a global pandemic—only 10% have missed paying this bill type, although 15% expect to skip it in the coming months.
According to the report, some U.S. consumers seem to prioritize the bill types which come with strings attached, from late-payment penalties to accrued interest.
While missing a single payment might seem harmless, a pattern of missed payments over time have the potential to negatively impact your credit score.
Enough Savings To Stay Afloat?
Finally, Americans are wary about how much they have stashed away in the bank to weather the tumultuous months ahead.
While unemployment figures are recovering from historic troughs, the fear of losing one’s job remains prevalent. How many months’ worth of savings do U.S. consumers think they have if this were to happen?
# Months | % Responses |
---|---|
7+ months 💰💰💰💰💰💰💰 | 23% |
4-6 months 💰💰💰💰💰💰 | 15% |
1-3 months 💰💰💰 | 27% |
<1 month 💰 | 35% |
No one knows how long the COVID-19 chaos will last. In order to adapt to this economic uncertainty, consumer priorities are shifting along with their tightened budgets.
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?
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.
Quality | Most Important | Least Important |
---|---|---|
Expertise and knowledge in financial planning and investments | 60% | 11% |
Personalized financial advice that meets my specific goals and needs | 54% | 16% |
Ability to understand my risk tolerance and appropriately align my investments | 47% | 17% |
Specialization in specific financial situations, such as retirement planning | 45% | 17% |
Ability to communicate complex financial concepts in an understandable way | 42% | 22% |
Transparent fee structure and pricing for my advisor’s services | 42% | 22% |
Trust and rapport established during the initial meetings with my advisor | 36% | 24% |
Ability to incorporate investment options that reflect my values | 22% | 41% |
Positive online reviews or ratings about my advisor’s services | 22% | 46% |
Recommendations from friends or family who had a positive experience with my advisor | 20% | 47% |
Commitment to diversity and inclusion, making me feel comfortable and respected | 20% | 47% |
Recommendations from other professionals, such as accountants or attorneys | 19% | 50% |
Shares a similar background or cultural understanding | 10% | 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:
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.
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