JFCP Research Journal
Roger Swagler, John Burton and Joan Koonce Lewis
;Lower-income consumers use a growing number of financial services including pawn shops, rent-to- own programs, check-cashing outlets, and rapid-refund tax services as alternatives to traditional financial services. These services constitute the Alternative Financial Sector (AFS). Compared to the traditional financial sector, AFS services are very expensive. This article describes services... Read More >
Gladys G. Shelton and Octavia L. Hill
The purpose of this study is to determine whether participation in a First-Time Homebuyers Educational Program affects budgeting behavior of program participants. The program was created to assist low to moderate income households in becoming homeowners by providinginformation on budgeting and all aspects of selecting, purchasing, and maintaining a home.... Read More >
Celia Ray Hayhoe and Mari S. Wilhelm
This study examined the intergender differences between men and women primary family financial managers (PFFM). The results supported the need for research to examine differences between men and women besides examining the differences between men and women PFFMs. Of the 20 variables employed in this study, only the money attitude... Read More >
Walt Woerheide
The purpose of this paper is to examine how the variables of salary growth rate, inflation, employee age, and career length affect the relative desirability of defined contribution (DC) plans compared to defined benefit (DB) plans. High salary growth rate and employee age favor DB pensions. A longer career favors... Read More >
Craig M. Newmark and Michael Walden
Retiring at age 62 allow pensions and Social Security payments earlier, with three more years of leisure time. Waiting to retire at age 65 will probably give the retiree larger pension and Social Security payments plus the earnings from three more years of work. We present a methodology for analyzing... Read More >
Sharon A. DeVaney
The purpose of the study was to examine factors related to retirement preparation of older and younger cohorts of the baby boomers using a criterion of having investment assets greater than 25% of net worth. Using the 1989 Survey of Consumer Finances, logit analyses showed that being white and expecting... Read More >
Y. Lakshmi Malroutu and Jing J. Xiao
Data from the 1989 Survey of Consumer Finance were used to examine the effect of socio- demographic, human capital, work related, and objective variables on perceived adequacy of retirement income of preretirees. A multivariate probit analysis showed that younger respondents, whites, those with incomes between $10,000 and $19,999, females, and... Read More >
Hye-Kyung Lee and Sherman Hanna
The optimal proportion of a household's investment portfolio that should be in risky assets such as stocks depends on what proportion of total wealth, including human wealth, the investment portfolio represents. This article estimates the total wealth of households in the U.S. Survey of Consumer Finances, and finds that financial... Read More >
Sharon M. Danes and Kathryn Rettig
Adjustment strategies of 337 farm men and women who faced economic stress were studied. Thirty-seven strategies were combined into one total-item scale with four subscales (increasing and extending money income, decreasing money expenditures, increasing household labor income, and increasing household management income.) Regression analyses for the scales were performed with... Read More >
James N. Morgan
The benefit-cost approach to economic choices turns out to require only four basic rules, though they imply also a principle, namely that only the future really matters, not the past. The four rules are: (1) convert all values to the present times; (2) reduce all values for uncertainty; (3) all... Read More >
Sherman Hanna, Jessie X. Fan and Y. Regina Chang
How much should a family save for retirement? A prescriptive life cycle savings model is presented. Scenarios are developed with simulations to provide implications for personal financial planning. The percent of income to save today depends on the expected lifetime non-investment income pattern. Households who are sure that their real... Read More >
Flora L. Williams, Virginia Haldeman and Sheran Cramer
Financial problems and concerns of people are increasing in an uncertain economy, and their effect upon productivity is critical. Documentation of these effects to date is needed to promote financial counseling and education programs for the worker at the workplace. The costs and benefits of programs are addressed to promote... Read More >