We Tracked Every Dollar 235 U.S. Households Spent for a Year, and Found Widespread Financial Vulnerability


Income inequality in the United States is growing, but the most common economic statistics hide a significant portion of Americans’ financial instability by drawing on annual aggregates of income and spending. Annual numbers can hide fluctuations that determine whether families have trouble paying bills or making important investments at a given moment. The lack of access to stable, predictable cash flows is the hard-to-see source of much of today’s economic insecurity.




From Financial Literacy to Financial Action

Thriving but Still Vulnerable in the U.S.

Budgeting for a Year with Lumpy Income

Emergency Savings

Extended family strives to get ahead

Getting By With Limited Resources

An Invisible Finance Sector: How Households Use Financial Tools of Their Own Making

Keeping Control by Relying on Cash

The USFD Methodology – The financial lives of low-and moderate-income Americans

Spikes and Dips: How Income Uncertainty Affects Households