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Report
Why Some Americans Don’t Invest in the Stock Market
This report presents findings from the January 2025 LIFE Survey on stock market participation and explores the factors that discourage individuals from investing. We find that, among nonowners in the underrepresented groups, limited financial knowledge was reported as a major barrier to investing, significantly more often than nonowners from their demographic counterparts. Indeed, these group differences in subjective financial knowledge were reflected in an objective measure of financial literacy across the full sample, with individuals from underrepresented groups displaying lower levels of ...
Report
Under Pressure: Financial Stress and Housing Payments
This report uses the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s July 2025 LIFE Survey to study the recent experiences of both homeowners and renters, examining their ability to make housing payments, financial shocks they have experienced, and the strategies and tools they employ to make ends meet. Responses from the July 2025 edition of the LIFE Survey reveal that large proportions of both homeowners and renters faced financial disruptions such as income loss, job separations, and increases in household costs, including rent, property taxes, and insurance. Renters and FHA loan holders were ...
Report
Consumer Experiences with Auto, Home, and Renters Insurance Costs in 2024 – Survey Data
In light of increased attention on insurance costs for U.S. consumers, the Consumer Finance Institute (CFI) at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia conducted a survey of consumers in late 2024 to investigate experiences with price changes, insurance shopping, and the effect of unexpected expenses on insurance holders in the auto, home, and renters markets. In our data, premium cost increases were reported by a wide variety of consumers across the demographic spectrum and across insurance types. Cost increases were not limited to policyholders who filed claims or made changes to their ...
Report
Evidence of Diverging Spending Behavior by Income
Recently, a variety of sources have presented evidence suggesting that U.S. consumers are experiencing a so-called K-shaped economy. In other words, different segments of consumers are encountering increasingly divergent trends. In most cases, these sources point to an apparent divergence in consumer spending growth between high- and low-income consumers. It has been suggested that the relatively strong growth in aggregate consumer spending is driven primarily by high-income, high-asset consumers, while spending growth among consumers with lower incomes has been relatively modest. Using ...
Report
It’s You, Not Me – Survey Data on AI’s Impact on Employees
While the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) on the workplace has received a significant amount of attention in recent years, the nature of that effect on employees and on the job market appears to be mixed among respondents to the LIFE Survey. Generally and across most demographic groups, employed respondents are very likely to disagree that AI is directly affecting their jobs or career opportunities. At the same time, they are very likely to agree that AI is affecting the job market as a whole
Report
Is Household Financial Health Improving?
In this CFI Research Brief, we use anonymized credit report data on consumer delinquency to assess the recent trajectory of households' financial health. Do recent improvements in consumer delinquency trends reflect strengthening household financial health, or are delinquency trends driven by other factors such as changes in the composition of borrowers? Using nationally representative consumer credit panel data and fixed-effects regression methods, our analysis points to a continued rise in the likelihood of delinquency, consistent with further deterioration in household financial health. ...
Report
Do Recent Auto Loan Delinquency Rates Overstate Borrower Distress?
Headlines about record-high auto loan delinquencies paint a worrying picture of American consumers under increasing financial strain. But how much of that picture reflects a genuine increase in distress — and how much reflects how we measure it? After considering several possible explanations, we focus on deconstructing the severe delinquency rate — the number of auto loans that are 60 or more days delinquent — to better understand what is driving the increase in this rate. We find that while the stock of severe auto delinquencies is rising, the flow of new delinquencies into this stage ...
Report
Recent Trends in Renter Financial Security and Homebuying Intentions
This report examines renters' ability to make housing payments, the coping mechanisms they use to make ends meet, and their plans to transition to homeownership in the near future. Compared with one year ago, more renter respondents have managed to make their rent payments on time and in full. However, a greater share of renters report paying less — or even skipping — other debts or monthly bills, and a greater share reported cutting back spending. More renters reported a decline in their sense of financial security over the last year, and fewer reported planning to take out a mortgage in ...
Report
The Rising Burden of Homeowners Insurance in the Third District States
Homeowners insurance is a type of insurance contract designed to protect homeowners from financial losses resulting from damage to their home, damage to or loss of personal belongings, or liability for accidents occurring on their property. Mortgage lenders typically require borrowers to maintain adequate insurance coverage to protect both the homeowner’s equity and the lender’s collateral. Homeowners insurance enhances household resilience and contributes to the stability of the overall housing market.
Report
AI-Enabled Fraud Is On the Rise — Here’s How to Beat It
A February 2024 deepfake scam in Hong Kong, where an employee wired $3.2 million to fraudsters posing as executives, highlights a critical reality: AI-enabled fraud is on the rise. In the past year, about 79 percent of financial institutions experienced fraud attempts. As AI-driven attacks outpace traditional defenses, the core challenge is no longer flawless prediction, but the ability to buy time to respond before damage occurs. We argue that AI’s primary value in fraud prevention is not merely speed but its capacity to detect uncertainty early and deliberately slow down risky ...