Americans making little progress on debt, savings, FW poll says

Americans continue to dip into their savings to pay for daily living expenses, make little progress on cutting household debt, and spend their tax stimulus checks on gasoline and other necessities, a survey sponsored by Fort Worth's First Command shows.

“Amid deteriorating economic conditions in the second quarter, Americans failed to follow through on intentions to save their economic stimulus checks and instead cut their short-term savings by 39 percent,” the firm said in its First Command Financial Behaviors Index.

Respondents to the survey in March indicated they planned to use their stimulus checks to increase savings and reduce debt.

“People are not doing what they planned,” Marty Durbin, president and chief operating officer of First Command, said in a release. “Despite the best of intentions, actual savings and debt reduction behaviors are falling while concern about the costs of everyday living is on the rise.”

“Our research shows that U.S. consumers are concerned with their financial situation not only in the near future but also in the years to come,” Durbin said. “Only one in three Americans feel very confident their financial situation will improve next year.”

Compiled by Sentient Decision Science, LLC, the First Command Financial Behaviors Index is conducted monthly with a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers, age 25-70 with annual household incomes of at least $50,000.