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Personal Finance

Explore Gallup's research.

Americans remain largely negative about the state of the economy and inflation, but their economic confidence is the highest it has been in two years.

Half of U.S. nonretirees expect the Social Security system will pay them benefits when they retire, up from 45% in 2015 and 36% in 2010.

About half of U.S. holiday shoppers say they will buy most or all of their gifts in December, with 16% buying all of them this month.

The amount Americans plan to spend on holiday gifts this year has increased as the season has progressed, from $923 in October to $975 in November.

Being the victim of a scam is one of the most prevalent crimes U.S. households experience, and also one that causes anxiety for a majority of Americans.

Trends measuring Americans' values need to be analyzed in the context of differences in question wording and changes in methodology.

Gallup data show Indians are optimistic about their economic prospects, but the situation remains bleak for hundreds of millions.

After slipping in 2021, Republicans' confidence in big business remains at that lower level in 2023, according to Gallup's annual Confidence in Institutions measure.

Ratings of the economy remain negative but have improved, with Gallup's Economic Confidence Index increasing from -43 to -32 in the past month.

Americans say U.S. families of four need $85,000 per year to survive, up from their $58,000 estimate in 2013. Higher earners and Eastern residents estimate higher income thresholds.

Nonretired Americans are more negative about retirement than they have been since 2012, while most retirees say they have enough money to live comfortably.

Gallup's latest estimate finds 61% of U.S. adults own stock, the highest it has been since 2008.

U.S. stock ownership has reached 61%, a level last seen during the Great Recession.

ESG has yet to capture much of the American public's attention or divide partisans as sharply as other issues.

Americans' opinions of federal income taxes are the worst they have been in about two decades.

Americans' attitudes about their finances are just as subdued today as they were a year ago, when inflation was near its 40-year peak.

Three in five Americans say recent price increases have caused them financial hardship. Inflation is mentioned most often as their No. 1 financial problem.

Half of Americans say they are worse off financially now than they were a year ago, the worst Gallup has measured since the Great Recession.

Mentions of the government as the nation's most important problem have risen in the past month. Economic confidence remains subpar.

Social & Policy Issues

While seven in 10 Americans plan to set goals for themselves in 2023, just a third of these indicate they will follow the key steps many advise are needed to achieve goals.