The Great Balancing Act: Households, Debt, and Economic Insecurity

Balancing finances is a complicated and precarious act for many U.S. households, with constant concerns that income will not be enough. What happens when households are no longer able to keep up this balancing act? This research draws on 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances data examine varying experiences economic insecurity, measured as whether household’s expenses exceeded its in the previous year, households’ strategies managing insecurity. The author explores ties among security, household debt burdens, credit market access. By comparing actual insecure used weather insecurity hypothetical proposed by more secure findings show resources protect against also influence how manage it. Although most relied borrowing their spending incomes, often recommended from savings or finding additional income.