Pulse Points: Savings Dwindled as Spending Increased in Q4 2021
Consumers spent more money on recreation and eating out during the 2021 holiday season than during the 2020 holiday season, but many remain vulnerable as government relief programs expire and inflation continues. This brief examines the factors that may shape financial health in the early months of 2022.
Financial Health Research: Expanding Our DEI Lens
As part of our DEI commitment, the Financial Health Network is updating our survey questions and analysis around ethnicity, gender, LGBTQIA+ status, and ability.
Pulse Points Fall 2021: How Families Are Using Child Tax Credits
New Pulse transactional data suggests that child tax credit payments have had a positive financial impact on recipients, particularly those who experienced hardship in the past.
How paid leave can be a financial safety net for your employees
During this past year, we’ve heard countless stories about workers having to take time off or quit their jobs to tend to a serious illness or care for loved ones throughout the pandemic.
Financial Health Pulse: 2021 U.S. Trends Report
Discover how Americans’ financial health outcomes have changed as COVID-19 continued to create unprecedented disruptions.
Emergency Savings, Combined with Support Networks, Reduced Hardships During the Pandemic
This research was produced by the Financial Health Network in collaboration with BlackRock’s Emergency Savings Initiative. ESI is a cross-sector program with a mission to help people living on low to moderate incomes gain access to and increase usage of proven savings strategies and tools – ultimately helping them establish an important safety net.
Unpaid and Unprotected: How the Lack of Paid Leave for Medical and Caregiving Purposes Impacts Financial Health
Paid leave for medical and caregiving purposes can help workers cope in challenging times.
Pulse Points Summer 2021: The Impact of Stimulus Payments and Reopening the Economy
From April 1 to June 30, 2021, Americans balanced saving and new spending opportunities, with minimal changes in earned income.
Account Balances
Liquid account balances trended downward over the period of April 1 – June 30, 2021. This was likely due to individuals spending down high balances, which were caused by stimulus payments and tax refunds. Balances in accounts owned by Financially Healthy individuals continued to be higher than those in accounts owned by Financially Coping or Financially Vulnerable individuals. In addition, those with household incomes above $100,000 had consistently higher balances than those with lower incomes.
On the Front Lines: How LMI Workers Coped During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Key Finding: Low- to moderate-income (LMI) frontline workers are less likely to be Financially Healthy than non-frontline LMI workers.
Pulse Points Spring 2021: The Effects of Stimulus Payments and Tax Refunds on Consumer Finances
Stimulus payments and tax refunds caused account inflows to spike 33% in January and 42% in March, according to analysis from our new Pulse Points series.