| Survey questions | Survey responses n (%) |
|---|---|
| Checked credit score in prior 12 months | 243 (57.6) |
| Obtained copy of credit report in prior 12 months | 218 (51.7) |
| Asked financial professional for advice in past 5 years* | 197 (46.7) |
| Types of financial advice obtained† | |
| Debt counselling | 93 (47.2) |
| Savings or investments | 136 (69.0) |
| Taking out a loan or mortgage | 68 (34.5) |
| Insurance of any type | 109 (55.3) |
| Tax planning | 59 (30.0) |
| Estate planning | 25 (12.7) |
| Asset protection | 34 (17.3) |
| How paid for financial advice† | |
| Advice was free | 114 (27.0) |
| Commission on purchased products | 28 (6.6) |
| Yearly retainer | 10 (2.4) |
| Asset under management (AUM) fee | 10 (2.4) |
| Combination of above | 22 (5.2) |
| Doesn't know | 10 (2.4) |
| Attended financial planning seminars at university* | 129 (30.6) |
| Have a will* | 31 (7.3) |
| Have an emergency fund for 3 month's expenses | 278 (65.9) |
| Can come up with $2,000 within the next month | 321 (76.1) |
| Have projected necessary retirement savings* | 168 (39.8) |
| Have retirement savings (any) | 262 (62.1) |
| Money set aside for children's college education (any)*‡ | 47 (38.5) |
| Have a mortgage (any)* | 137 (32.5) |
| Have credit card debt (any)* | 86 (20.4) |
| Have student loans (any)* | 299 (70.9) |
| Have any of the above debt* | 332 (78.7) |
| Difficulty meeting monthly expenses | |
| Very difficult | 24 (5.7) |
| Somewhat difficult | 111 (26.3) |
| Not at all difficult | 287 (68.0) |
| Money spent in relation to annual income over prior year | |
| Spent less than income | 283 (67.1) |
| Spent about the same as income | 89 (21.1) |
| Spent more than income | 50 (11.8) |
| Confidence in covering an unexpected $2,000 expense | |
| Certain | 321 (76.1) |
| Probably | 71 (16.8) |
| Probably not | 19 (4.5) |
| Definitely not | 11 (2.6) |
*Items with 1 missing response;
†Among those 197 respondents who obtained professional advice;
‡Among those 122 respondents with dependent children;
Int J Med Educ. 2017; 8:192-204; doi: 10.5116/ijme.5918.ad11