The FINANCIAL — As Americans' optimism about their personal finances increases, Chase Blueprint has launched a new initiative and resource center for those focused on helping consumers take steps toward a better financial future.
The Resource Center for Mindful Spending, unveiled at Washington Post Live's "Kitchen Table Economics" forum last week, comes as more than three-quarters (76 percent) of Americans say that their personal finances are stable or improving – an 11 percent increase over last year. The data comes from the latest Chase Blueprint Pulse of the Consumer Survey, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Consumers More Optimistic about Finances — Forty-five percent of consumers believe that their personal finances have already bottomed out and are getting better – a 14 percent increase from last year – according to the survey, which takes a comprehensive look at Americans' financial habits and attitudes toward the economy. More than six in 10 (61 percent) Americans believe the national economy has bottomed out and is stable or improving. In addition, consumers are even more optimistic about economic conditions around them, with 67 percent believing their local economy is stable or improving.
Consumers' Spending is Recovering; Focus on Savings Continues — As optimism has increased, it appears that consumers are beginning to spend more. Almost two in five (39 percent) consumers say they are spending the same or more than they were pre-recession. Over the past year, consumers say that the top three categories where they are spending more money include dining out (33 percent), vacations (20 percent) and clothing (17 percent).
Savings remains a top concern for consumers, with 45 percent of Americans putting more money into savings, up nine percent from 2012. However, half of Americans (51 percent) still say they have not put more money into savings as a result of the economic downturn.
"As consumers begin to feel more optimistic about their financial situation, it's more important than ever that we help them maintain good spending habits," said Florian Egg-Krings, general manager, Chase Blueprint. "That's why Chase Blueprint is launching a new initiative that provides research and information to help nurture a mindful spending movement. Together, we can help consumers strengthen the responsible spending and borrowing habits developed over the last few years."
New Chase Initiative to Help Reinforce Positive Spending and Borrowing Habits — Drawing upon the expertise of Chase and respected experts, the Resource Center for Mindful Spending is a free knowledge center available at Chase.com/MindfulSpending. To better understand why consumers spend and borrow the way they do, Chase Blueprint today released its first of many projects as part of the Resource Center: "Born to spend? How nature and nurture impact spending and borrowing habits," by behavioral economist Dr. Hersh Shefrin.
"Few question the importance of financial literacy, but we would benefit from a better understanding of how the human mind actually develops habits around spending and borrowing," said Dr. Shefrin, the author of the paper and Mario Belotti Chair in the Department of Finance at Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business. "Based on a deep investigation of how people spend and borrow, this paper identifies three specific pathways for developing better financial habits."
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