Each week, if not daily, a survey about some financial matter lands in my in-box. The topics vary, but tend to be seasonal in nature - taxes and financial literacy are the current subjects du jour.
Study break - a new weekly blog feature
This week: Tax habits, money stress, and kids on the dole.
March 29, 2011 at 10:25PM
Sometimes the results are noteworthy and prompt column ideas or play a large role in trend stories. More often, however, the surveys are interesting, worth a mention at the dinner table or in a tweet, and that's pretty much that.
Introducing the inaugural post in my new Tuesday series I'm calling: Study Break.
- Themint.org, a Northwestern Mutual financial literacy website geared toward kids and teens, asked site visitors how often their parents "give in" when asked for money beyond an established allowance.
- The poll of 1,164 respondents found 63 percent of today's kids ages 17 and younger are always given money when they ask for it, compared to 12 percent of 18 - 45 year-olds as youth, 8 percent of 46 - 59-year-olds, and 13 percent of those age 60-plus.
- Four in 10 said they usually bought tickets for concerts and movies with the dough.
- One percent responded that they asked for cash to participate in a charity event, or to donate.
- Trans Union came out with a survey conducted by Zogby international about money and stress. The not terribly surprising findings? The vast majority of us feel financial stress at least every now and then. I'm more interested in the 6 percent of respondents who claim they never feel financially stressed. Now that's a secret that could make you rich.
- Lastly, more from the tax front. I have so many tax stats in my hopper that I thought about an entire Study Break around the topic. But I figured that accountants aren't the only ones feeling the creep of tax fatigue. American Express asked more than 2,000 people about their tax preparation habits.
- Surprisingly, 68.3 percent claim to be planners, with a grasp on their tax situation long before the due date.
- 20.4 percent of respondents said they were glad that taxes aren't due until April 18 this year (the delay is thanks to Patriots Day, a holiday in Washington D.C).
- 12.7 percent answered that when it comes to tax deductions, they're more likely to push the envelope about which deductions are legitimate. 10.1 percent say, hey, honest mistakes are OK.
