Personal finances have you downtrodden?

According to a recent survey by the Washington-based Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP), Americans anticipate that the national economy will be more likely to improve than decline during the next six months. Bloomberg reveals that these same Americans do not have the very same good outlook when it comes to their personal finances, however. Savings, college and retirement are hot button issues that have The United States seeing red.

Personal finances don’t light up the headlines like recession busting

The CFP found that 44 percent of individuals expect the U.S. economy to rise before their personal finances find relief, while 28 percent have a doom and gloom outlook. Robert Glovsky of the CFP told Bloomberg that “Americans are usually hopeful, and much of the economic news leads us to conclude that we are out of the recession, and a double dip is unlikely”.

Yet this hope doesn’t appear to apply to personal finances at all. Consumer confidence is on an upswing and unemployment is down slightly – at least what has been declared – yet two-thirds of the CFP poll respondents are gripping over some of the big questions of personal finances. Many consumers believe they need instant cash loans, but are frequently ineligible for a bank loan because of the still-tight credit market. They may have found that a bad credit personel loans is a viable way out of the problem, but this doesn’t bode well if there is no future plan to deal with emergencies that prey upon personal finances.

A three-pronged personal finance nightmare

The 1,000-strong CFP survey group – comprised of respondents aged 18 and up – was largely fearful of developing a functional savings, paying for higher education and getting set for retirement. Not only that, but 80 percent of the group agreed that Congress wasn’t doing enough to regulate financial markets. However, various media sources indicate a reform bill may pass through Congress soon.

More information

bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-13/americans-are-more-optimistic-about-economy-than-own-finances-survey-says.html

cfp.net/media/release.asp?id=253