Not an expert at all in this area, but if people are interested in statistics for people's financial habits, the Federal Reserve's most recent "Report on the Ec

Not an expert at all in this area, but if people are interested in statistics for people's financial habits, the Federal Reserve's most recent "Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households" [1] is useful. It's a survey of about 10,000 people and, as far as I can tell, is the source for many claims like "40% of American adults cannot meet an unexpected $400 expense". That statistic in particular is consistent for the past few years. There are also many other interesting statistics: * 17% of adults are not able to pay all of their current month's bills in full * 20% of adults had major unexpected medical bills in the last year * Among young adults, hispanic people are twice as likely to attend for-profit colleges than white people, and black people are five times as likely * Half of those who attended for-profit schools would change their choice if they could; a quarter of those who attend other schools would Seems like addressing the costs of medical care and education would go a very long way. [1] https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2018-report-economic-well-being-us-households-201905.pdf https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2018-repor...