Personal Finances

The collapse of the U.S. housing market has not shaken the public’s confidence in the investment value of homeownership.

Roughly 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65 today, and about 10,000 more will cross that threshold every day for the next 19 years.

As the leading edge of the giant Baby Boomer generation turns 65 on January 1, 2011, a Pew Research roundup of new and recent surveys finds that this age group is more downbeat than others about the trajectory of their lives and the direction of the nation as a whole. This report explores Boomers’ political and social values; their economic hopes and fears and their overall satisfaction with life.

Graduates who received a bachelor’s degree in 2008 borrowed 50% more than their counterparts who graduated in 1996, while graduates who earned an associate’s degree or undergraduate certificate in 2008 borrowed more than twice what their counterparts in 1996 had borrowed.

More than a third (36%) of Americans say the practice of "walking away" from a home mortgage is acceptable, at least under certain circumstances.

Nearly six-in-ten Americans say it is “unacceptable” for homeowners to stop making their mortgage payments, but more than a third say the practice of “walking away” from a home mortgage is acceptable under certain circumstances. Homeowners whose home values declined during the recession and those who have spent time unemployed are more likely to say that “walking away” from a mortgage is acceptable.

The recession has made five familiar consumer items far less of a necessity in the lives of Americans.

Long-term unemployment takes a much deeper toll than short-term unemployment on a person's finances, emotional well-being and career prospects.