Assets and Debt

2018-06-28 12:15 pm

Measuring Mobility Toolkit > Measure Selector > Assets and Debt

Assets and Debt

Factor: Economic Success

Age: Adult

Duration: 3-5 minutes

Reading Level: 6th-8th grade

What

These 10 questions are used to assess home ownership, savings, and debt, such as student loans and credit card balances.

Who

The adult(s) in a household.

How

INSTRUCTIONS

An interviewer verbally administers the questions. The questions have different answer formats and can be used individually.

RESPONSE FORMAT

These questions are administered verbally by an interviewer. The questions have different answer formats and can be used individually.

Google Doc (.gdoc) Microsoft Word (.docx) PDF Document (.pdf)

All Survey Questions

Housing

1. Which of the following best describes the place where you live?

2. Is the place where you live…

Debt

3. Do you currently have any outstanding unpaid credit card debt?

4. Do you [and your spouse/and your partner] currently have more, less, or about the same amount of credit card debt than you had 12 months ago?

5. 12 months ago, did you have any credit card debt that you have since paid off?

6. In the past 12 months, how frequently have you carried an unpaid balance on one or more of your credit cards?

7. Do you currently have student loan debt or owe any money used to pay for your own education?

8. In the past 12 months, did you [and your spouse/and your partner] do each of the following to cover spending that exceeded your income?

9. Do you currently have an unpaid balance or owe any debt related to the unexpected major medical expenses that you had in the past 12 months?

10. How confident are you that you could come up with $400 if an unexpected expense arose within the next month?

Why It Matters

Financial and physical assets can help families meet expenses not covered by current income. Debts potentially draw resources away from other family needs and may contribute to family stress and instability.

HEADS UP

It may be challenging and costly to tap into certain assets like a home to meet current income needs. Debt incurred to improve work outcomes — such as paying for additional education or a reliable car — can improve economic success.

SEE ALSO

Income and Income Sources

References

Housing

U.S. Census Bureau (2017). 2018 American Community Survey Questionnaire. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/.

U.S. Census Bureau (2015). AHS 2015 Public Use File (PUF). Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs.html.

Debt

Items adapted from: Federal Reserve Board of Governors (2016). Codebook for 2016 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking. Retrieved from https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/files/shed_2016codebook.pdf