- Nearly 2 in 5 Americans (38 percent)
don’t have the necessary funds set aside to cover a $500 emergency
expense, including almost half of Millennials (49 percent)
- 1 in 2 Americans (50 percent) describe
the current state of their household finances as only fair, poor or
even terrible
- Necessities (43 percent), eating out
(28 percent) and home-related expenses (26 percent) are the top
areas Americans cite spending more than they’d like
Compared to older Americans, Millennials (Americans aged 18-36)
appear less prepared to cover the costs of unexpected emergency
expenses. Nearly half of Millennials (49 percent) report having
insufficient or no funds set aside to cover the costs of a $500
unexpected emergency expense, while roughly one third of older
adults (ages 37+) (34 percent) said the same. In fact,
approximately 3 in 10 Americans ages 37+ (28 percent) cited having
no money set aside to cover the cost of an unexpected emergency –
compared to over a third of Millennials (34 percent) who reported
having zero dollars in emergency funds. On the opposite end of the
spectrum, 36 percent of older Americans said they had $8,000 or
more set aside for emergency expenses. Millennials were less than
half as likely to have that much money set aside, with just 15
percent reporting they had $8,000 or more in emergency funds.
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HomeServe Biannual State of the Home
Survey - Summer 2017 (Photo: Business Wire)
These findings are part of the Summer 2017 edition of the
HomeServe Biannual State of the Home Survey – now in its
fifth edition – presented by HomeServe USA (HomeServe), a leading
provider of home repair solutions. The twice annual survey reports
on the state of Americans’ readiness for emergency home repairs and
other ongoing expenses. This 5th edition of the survey was
conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of HomeServe from August
17-21, 2017, among over 2,000 U.S. adults ages 18 and older.
Compared to the Winter 2017 edition of the survey, the
percentage of Americans with no money set aside for unexpected
emergency expenses has increased – up 10 percentage points to 29
percent compared to 19 percent in Winter 2017. The percentage of
Americans with $8,000 or more was up a nominal 4 percentage points
compared to the Winter 2017 survey data (30 percent vs. 26
percent). Additionally, the survey found that married Americans
were nearly twice as likely as unmarried Americans to have $8,000
or more set aside for emergency expenses (39 percent vs. 20
percent). Furthermore, homeowners were over twice as likely as
renters to have $8,000+ set aside (37 percent vs. 18 percent).
Americans on State of Financial Health & Spending
Beyond emergency savings, the Summer 2017 edition of HomeServe’s
survey explored how Americans grade the present state of their
household finances. On a scale of excellent to terrible, nearly 2
in 5 Americans (37 percent) described the current state of their
household finances as good, while 35 percent described it as fair.
Sixteen percent described the current state of their household
finances as poor or terrible, while 13 percent reported it as
excellent. Among Millennials in particular, the findings skewed
slightly more negative across the board, with the majority citing
the state of their household finances as fair (39 percent), while
34 percent described it as good and 9 percent described it as
excellent. Nearly 1 in 5 Millennials (19 percent) described the
state of their household finances as terrible or poor.
The survey also investigated the areas where Americans found
themselves spending more money than they’d like. Americans overall
reported, as expected, spending on necessities, such as food,
utilities, and phone bills, ranked first (43 percent), followed by
eating out (28 percent) and home-related expenses (26 percent) such
as maintenance, home renovation and repairs. Medical expenses (24
percent) came in as the fourth-most common area Americans found
themselves spending more than they’d like.
Like older Americans, Millennials cite spending on necessities
(48 percent) as the top area they find themselves spending more
than they’d like, but the second- and third-ranked areas reflected
remarkable differences. Millennials cited eating out (44 percent)
as a fairly close second to necessities, with non-essential items
(31 percent) such as apparel and electronics being the third most
popular category. Compared to older Americans, Millennials were
three times as likely to cite social/recreational activities as an
area where they were spending more than they’d like (7 percent for
older Americans vs. 22 percent for Millennials).
Being Prepared for Emergency Home Repairs
Home-related expenses being cited as one of the major areas
Americans find themselves spending more money than they’d like
comes as no surprise, particularly given the consistent gap between
expectations and reality among Americans when it comes to emergency
home repairs. In the Summer 2016 edition of the survey,
three-quarters of Americans (75 percent) felt it was not very or
not at all likely that they might experience a major home repair
emergency in the subsequent 12 months. But a year later, the Summer
2017 survey found nearly half of Americans (46 percent) experienced
a home repair emergency in the past 12 months.
Awareness of the frequency and cost of home repair emergencies
is punctuated by a significant portion of Americans continuing to
have no funds set aside to cover the cost of an unexpected repair
event. The Summer 2017 survey found that 28 percent of American
homeowners had no money set aside to cover the cost of an emergency
home repair, much higher than what was reported in the Winter 2017
edition (16 percent) and up from the 23 percent reported a year ago
in the Summer 2016 edition. Furthermore, among those who have some
money set aside, the percentage of homeowners with $1,000 or less
saved fell to 30 percent – a significant drop from the 52 percent
reported by the Summer 2015 edition of the survey two years prior.
On the other end – among homeowners with money set aside for
emergency home repairs – 53 percent said they had $5,000 or more in
funds set aside, an increase from the 48 percent reported in the
Winter 2017 survey.
“Across our previous surveys and with this latest edition, there
is one finding that has remained consistent: a significant portion
of Americans are not prepared for emergency expenses. The Summer
2017 edition highlights the vulnerability of Millennials in
particular,” said Tom Rusin, CEO of HomeServe USA. “This is why our
focus continues to be on doing our part to protect Americans from
the unexpected financial burden and inconvenience of home
emergencies. Whether it’s a younger generation of first time
homeowners or the generations that came before them, our mission
and commitment to assisting homeowners through their emergency
repair needs remain the same.”
Survey Methodology
The HomeServe Biannual State of the Home Summer 2017 survey was
conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf
of HomeServe from August 17-21, 2017 among 2,065 U.S. adults ages
18 and older among whom 606 are Millennials ages 18-36. The Winter
2017 survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris
Poll on behalf of HomeServe from March 6-8, 2017 among 2,178 adults
ages 18 and older. The Summer 2016 survey was conducted online
within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of HomeServe from
August 3-4, 2016 among 2,027 adults ages 18 and older. The Summer
2015 survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris
Poll on behalf of HomeServe from July 17-21, 2015 among 2,024
adults ages 18 and older. These online surveys are not based on a
probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical
sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology,
including weighting variables, please contact
press@homeserveusa.com.
About Harris Poll
Over the last 5 decades, Harris Polls have become media staples.
With comprehensive experience and precise technique in public
opinion polling, along with a proven track record of uncovering
consumers’ motivations and behaviors, Harris Poll has gained strong
brand recognition around the world. Contact us for more
information.
About HomeServe
HomeServe USA Corp. (HomeServe) is a leading provider of home
repair solutions serving 3.1 million customers across the US and
Canada under the HomeServe, Home Emergency Insurance Solutions,
Service Line Warranties of America (SLWA) and Service Line
Warranties of Canada (SLWC) names. Since 2003, HomeServe has been
protecting homeowners against the expense and inconvenience of
water, sewer, electrical, HVAC and other home repair emergencies by
providing affordable repair coverage and quality local service. As
an A+ rated Better Business Bureau Accredited Business, HomeServe
is dedicated to being a customer-focused company supplying
best-in-class repair plans and other services to consumers directly
and through over 475 leading municipal, utility and association
partners. For more information about HomeServe, a 2017 Connecticut
Top Workplace winner and recipient of seventeen 2017 Stevie Awards
for Sales & Customer Service, please go
to www.homeserveusa.com. For information on SLWA visit
www.slwofa.com and for SLWC visit www.slwofc.ca. To connect with
HomeServe on Twitter and Facebook, please visit
www.twitter.com/homeserveusa and
www.facebook.com/HomeServeUSA.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170929005161/en/
MEDIA:HomeServe USAMyles Meehan, 203-356-4259Email:
Myles.Meehan@homeserveusa.com
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