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Economic and Psychological Determinants of Household Savings Behavior. Preliminary Pilot Results. NC1013 Research Team. Pilot Objectives. Assess the appropriateness of the survey methodology Length of time Split design (phone and mail)
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Economic and Psychological Determinants of Household Savings Behavior Preliminary Pilot Results NC1013 Research Team
Pilot Objectives • Assess the appropriateness of the survey methodology • Length of time • Split design (phone and mail) • Determine whether the instruments measure the intended characteristics (validity) • Work through the process with University of Wisconsin-Madison Survey Center
Sample Demographics • 98 individuals (convenience sample) • Age 18-65 years (Mean=42) • Women (85%) • Married (61%) • Have minor children (64%) • 18% older kids (over 18) • 15% adults other than spouse or partner • Income $35K or more (59%) • Homeowner (61%) • 83% of HO have mortgage • Business owners (9%)
Five Stages of Saving Behavior • Precontemplation • Have no plan to begin saving in the next year • Contemplation • Like to begin saving in the next year • Preparation • Plan to begin saving in the next year • Action • Currently saving money • Maintenance • Saving regularly for over a year
Focus Group • Survey Method • Splitting into a phone and mail survey is a good idea • Overall comfort level was high • Incentive was important • Written survey took 10-20 minutes • Survey Questions • Some suggestions for rewording
Next Steps • Refine the instruments and/or process based on the pilot study results • Secure funding partners by mid 2006 • National random sample • Intended sample • Non-retired, aged 30-55 • Phone survey (random digit dial) • Provides demographics and savings behavior stage data • Used to recruit the sample for the mail survey • Slated to begin Fall 2006 • Mail survey • Target sample size = 2000 households • Target completion date – mid 2007
Unique Contributions • Interdisciplinary team that has expertise from basic research to community education • Full range of savings behavior including pre-cursors to actual saving • Seeking information • Setting goals • A plan • Inclusion of psychological scales to examine how personal psychology along with socioeconomic factors related to stages of savings behavior • Impulsivity • Materialism • Perfectionism • Self control • Measures of culture and acculturation • Interactions among psychology and culture
Return on Investment • Publicity generated by results • Actually capturing real savings behavior • Not just income less expenses • Measuring intent not just action • Understanding why people don’t save • Design new education and marketing programs • That address personal psychology and culture • Partnerships with Cooperative Extension throughout the US to reach households
Return on Investment • Opportunity for innovation within products and services in financial services sector • Improve outreach and subsequent savings in the US • All of this attributable to the sponsorship (and potential partners)