CHERRY HILL, N.J., April 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Hispanics
spend an average of $300 less per
month when compared with the general U.S. population, according to
new survey results from TD Bank, America's Most Convenient
Bank®.
The TD Bank Saving and Spending Survey questioned more than
1,600 U.S. consumers about their saving and spending habits. The
survey found the monthly spending average for Hispanics
significantly lower than the general market, spending just
$1,291 compared with the national
average of $1,608 (excluding
rent/mortgage).
"While the survey shows Hispanics are spending less than the
national average, they are still struggling to save money, with 43
percent wishing they could save more," said Nandita Bakhshi, Executive Vice President,
Consumer Bank, TD Bank. "Managing spending and savings is a
delicate balance but it can be achieved with the right plan and
budget."
Necessary Expenses and the Influence of Impulse
Purchases
Hispanics are burdened with expenses
they seemingly cannot escape. The survey results found that almost
half (43 percent) of Hispanics wish they were able to save more but
have unavoidable expenses, such as groceries and household
utilities, which rank highest among top spending categories.
The top spending categories for Hispanics include:
- Groceries and alcohol (26 percent of monthly spending)
- Household utilities and bills (22 percent of monthly
spending)
- Loan and line of credit payments (12 percent of monthly
spending)
In terms of excessive spending on day-to-day items, 41 percent
of Hispanics respondents agreed that they spend too much on
restaurants/dining out, followed by coffee/lunches (19 percent) and
clothing/shoes (15 percent). When it comes to cutting back, the
majority of Hispanics (64 percent) agreed they would cut back on
the costs related to restaurants/dining, followed by clothing/shoes
(37 percent) and gifts for others (35 percent).
Aside from necessary expenses, the survey found that Hispanics
also indulge on impulse purchases. Nearly half (43 percent) of
Hispanics claim to sometimes indulge in impulse purchases because
they feel they deserve it. Interestingly, 24 percent of Hispanics
said they rarely spend impulsively because they try not to spend
outside their budget.
Cautious with a Keen Eye on Personal Budgets
When
asked to describe their financial character, almost half (40
percent) of Hispanics claim their financial personality/character
to be "cautious." In regards to how regularly they are examining
their finances, about half (48 percent) of Hispanics check their
budget once a week to ensure they are spending within their means.
Additionally, 35 percent of Hispanics said they use
banking/financial apps as a method to keep track of their
budget.
According to the survey, Hispanics said that their parents (38
percent) are the biggest impact on their financial behavior
followed by friends (13 percent). Friends and family (29 percent),
celebrities (26 percent) and professional financial advisors (21
percent) are the ideal person(s) they would choose to discuss their
finances.
Necessary Preparation for a Solid Financial Future
The survey also found that the majority of Hispanics (62 percent)
do not have savings or investments to draw from in case of
unexpected unemployment. Furthermore, 31 percent of Hispanics
report they would be able to live comfortably for six or more
months without a source of income.
Although more than half (54 percent) of Hispanics report that
they are not currently saving or investing money for retirement, 30
percent claim they feel they are extremely/very confident that they
will be able to retire comfortably.
"The key to reaching your financial goals, whether it's saving
money for your retirement or just planning for a rainy day, is to
have a plan and stick to it," said Bakhshi. "Having a budget will
help you manage your expenses and allow you to save money and give
you confidence in your financial future."
Full survey results can be found at
https://mediaroom.tdbank.com/savingandspending.
Survey Methodology
The study was conducted among a
representative group of 1607 consumers (including 80 Hispanic
consumers) between March 26 and March 31,
2015. The sample size has a margin of error of +/- 2.4%. The
survey was conducted by Vision Critical.
About Vision Critical
Vision Critical provides a
cloud-based customer intelligence platform that allows companies to
build engaged, secure communities of customers they can use
continuously, across the enterprise, for ongoing, real-time
feedback and insight. Designed for today's always-on, social and
mobile savvy customer, Vision Critical's technology helps large,
customer-centric enterprises discover what their customers want so
they can deliver what they need. Unlike traditional customer
research, which is slow, expensive and gathers dust on a shelf,
Vision Critical's customer intelligence platform replaces static
data and cumbersome reports with real-time actionable customer
intelligence that companies need to build better products, deliver
better services and achieve better business outcomes.
About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient
Bank®
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, is one
of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 8 million
customers with a full range of retail, small business and
commercial banking products and services at approximately 1,300
convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro
D.C., the Carolinas and Florida.
In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private
banking and wealth management services through TD
Wealth®, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial
services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered
in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more,
visit www.tdbank.com. Find TD Bank on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter
at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US.
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank
Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank
of Toronto, Canada, a top 10
financial services company in North America. The
Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New
York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker
symbol "TD". To learn more, visit www.td.com.
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SOURCE TD Bank