Data & Research January 7, 2009

Goal Oriented

Whether you set a New Year’s resolution – or if you didn’t – you have a lot of company.
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New research conducted by Opinion Corporation says that 45% of Americans usually set New Year’s Resolutions, 17% do so infrequently, and a full 38% absolutely never do.
Now, we all know that those New Year’s resolutions can be tough to keep. The survey said that a mere 8% of respondents were “always” successful in achieving their resolutions, though nearly one-in-five (19%) did so every other year. The reality is that nearly half (49%) have what was termed “infrequent” success, and full quarter (24%) said that they have NEVER succeeded in keeping their resolutions.
Apparently the younger you are, the more optimistic (or interested) you are in the prospects for change; 39% of those in their twenties achieve their resolutions every year or every other year, while fewer than 15% of those over 50 achieve their resolutions every year or every other year.
And it also seems that the less happy you are, the more likely you are to set New Year’s Resolutions (especially true for those who set money-related resolutions, where 41% are not happy, 34% are moderately happy, and 25% are happy). Oddly, there appears to be no correlation between happiness and resolution setting/success.
According to the research, people who achieve their resolutions every year are NO happier than those who do not set resolutions or who are unsuccessful in achieving them.
On the other hand, other research has indicated that people who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions.
By the way, those who set resolutions tend to pick commitments related to (some make more than one resolution):
  • 34% set resolutions related to money
  • 38% set resolutions related to weight
  • 47% set resolutions related to self-improvement or education
  • 31% set resolutions related to relationships
Data & Research January 7, 2009

Planning Ahead Proved Difficult

In the past year, retirees/pre-retirees with financial planners lost money at about the same rate as those without financial planners, according to a survey of Consumer Reports readers.
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Unlike last year’s survey of readers of Consumer Reports, those who reported using financial planners said they were no more satisfied than those who educated themselves.

More than half (51%) of the surveyed retirees and 55% of those just short of retirement are facing investment losses of at least 20% in the past 12 months. The Consumer Reports 2008 Retirement Survey also found that while consumers who planned ahead were more satisfied with their retirement prospects, pre-retirees who had done more planning reported worse losses, on average, than those who have not planned, according to a press release.

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Among pre-retirees, 90% are planning ahead by reading books or articles, consulting professionals, using online software, taking courses, or conversing with family and friends. Despite the current market climate, the more planning methods used, the more satisfied the respondents are, the press release said.

However, survey respondents who plan ahead are less conservative, in general than those who do not, which Consumer Reports points out was a beneficial strategy before the market meltdown, according to Consumer Reports’ 2007 Retirement Survey, but it proved punishing during the unusually severe market downturn of recent months.

Turning to Plan B

Forty-three percent of respondents that did four or more planning activities said they would now delay retirement a year, compared with 28% of those who had done nothing. Greater losses might have forced the decision.

About half of the more than 19,000 Consumer Reports online subscribers between the ages of 55 to 75 surveyed have already made strides to generate more cash, including eating out less and cutting back on entertainment. About one-third have cut their credit card use and spent less on groceries and household goods.

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