NEFE exhibited at the 2023 AFCPE Symposium. Learn more about exhibiting →
The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) and AFCPE have always enjoyed a supportive working relationship from each of our organizations’ early days. NEFE and AFCPE share a common goal to help individuals and families live their best financial lives through high-quality education. 
One such example is how both NEFE and AFCPE use research and data to support this field. NEFE conducts in-depth opinion polling of U.S. adults on important topics related to financial education, personal finance and financial literacy. The results of this work can help professionals—including the AFCPE community—develop strategies to improve their craft.
Here are four statistics from our opinion polling this year that you can bring with you into your 2024 work:
Feelings of Financial Well-Being to Start 2023
Each year, our first opinion poll aims to get a broad understanding of how U.S. adults view their financial well-being, measured using the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s short-form scale. Respondents answered a series of questions on their current financial standing as well as questions about their feelings regarding their current financial standing.
- Interesting Statistic for the AFCPE Community: When asked about having money at the end of a month, 41% say they “always” or “often” do, while 29% say they “sometimes” do and 29% say they “rarely” or “never” do.
Consumer Trust of the Financial Services Sector
Early in 2023, we explored the current state of consumer trust in the financial services sector. While we were conducting this polling, the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse occurred, making international headlines. We pivoted our polling strategy and fielded the poll a second time shortly after news of these bank collapses happened. This allowed us to collect unique, moment-in-time comparison data.
- Interesting Statistic for the AFCPE Community: 40% of respondents who were aware of the banking crises trust financial institutions to ensure their employees were well trained and professional, while 36% disagreed with that statement.
Student Loan Repayments
Following the resumption of federal student loan payments, we fielded a poll to learn how U.S. adults, especially those who had student loan responsibilities, were planning to manage their finances following this change.
- Interesting Statistic for the AFCPE Community: 83% of student loan borrowers responded that they would have to make budgetary changes, with one in three borrowers saying they will need to cut at least $500 per month to make their payments, and 10% estimating they will need to cut at least $1,000 per month.
Native Community Members’ Views of the Financial Services Sector
Throughout 2023, NEFE made a concerted effort to explore Native communities’ views on financial education and the financial services sector. This included in-depth polling about Native experiences.
- Interesting Statistic for the AFCPE Community: One-third of respondents say they have experienced bias, discrimination or exclusion by or from institutions and individuals within the financial services sector while seeking services related to banking, saving, lending, credit, insurance, taxes, financial planning, financial counseling and/or housing. Additionally, 15% say they are unsure if they experienced bias, discrimination or exclusion.
The AFCPE community is known for its passion to learn and improve with the goal of helping learners and clients. We hope that this data can help inform your approach to working with new or existing clients in 2024 and beyond.
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