Household Budget Habits and Financial Stress Survey

Thanks for taking a few minutes to talk about your household budget. Your responses are completely confidential and anonymized. There are no wrong answers here — we're just trying to understand how real budgets actually work day to day. About 5-6 minutes.

Which best describes how you currently manage your household budget?

• I don't track it in any formal way
• I keep a rough mental estimate
• I use a spreadsheet or written budget
• I use a budgeting app
• I work with a financial advisor or planner
• Other

Over the last 3 months, how confident have you felt about staying within your household budget?

Thinking about a typical month, allocate 100 points across these categories based on roughly how much of your spending goes to each.

• Housing (rent/mortgage)
• Food & groceries
• Transportation
• Utilities & bills
• Debt payments
• Entertainment & discretionary
• Savings & investing

How often do you do each of the following?

In the last 3 months, how often did you have to dip into savings or use credit to cover regular monthly expenses?

• Never
• Once
• 2-3 times
• 4 or more times

Which of these financial goals matter most to you right now, and which matter least?

• Paying down debt
• Building an emergency fund
• Saving for retirement
• Saving for a big purchase
• Reducing monthly spending
• Increasing household income
• Improving credit score

How satisfied are you with the tool or method you currently use to manage your budget?

Anchor on the respondent's confidence score and whether they've dipped into savings or credit recently. Ask them to walk through the last specific month or moment their budget broke down: what caused it (an unexpected expense, underestimating a category, income change), what they did about it, and what would have prevented it. If they report never dipping into savings, probe what makes their budget resilient and whether that holds during unusual months like holidays.

Which range best describes your total household income before taxes?

• Under $30,000
• $30,000-$59,999
• $60,000-$89,999
• $90,000-$119,999
• $120,000-$149,999
• $150,000 or more
• Prefer not to say

How many people live in your household, including yourself?

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5 or more
• Prefer not to say

What is your age range?

• 18-24
• 25-34
• 35-44
• 45-54
• 55-64
• 65 or older
• Prefer not to say

That's everything — thank you for the honest answers. We use responses like yours to understand where household budgets tend to break down and to shape tools and guidance that better match how people actually spend.