This is a household profile of a participant in the U.S. Financial Diaries project. Mateo Valencia, 31, and Lucia Benitez, 30, are an unmarried couple living in Queens with their four year- old son Pablo. Mateo and Lucia are undocumented immigrants, and the realities and dangers of living in the...

This is a case study of "The Johnsons," a family studied as part of the U.S. Financial Diaries project. The Johnsons have significant challenges keeping their family afloat. Despite multiple sources of income, which include education aid, their income is volatile and irregular. Their expenses also...

This is a household profile of a participant in the U.S. Financial Diaries project. Sandra Young, 52, is an African American woman living in Brooklyn with her grown children: Tyler, 25, and Kayla, 24. Sandra manages several branches of a tax preparation agency, which means that she earns most of...

One of the core findings of the US Financial Diaries is the prevalence of income volatility. On average, our households experience six months when income is 20% above or below their typical monthly income. In theory, households should react to volatile incomes by building up savings in months where...

This is a household profile of a participant in the U.S. Financial Diaries project. Tim and Clara Adrian are in their early 30’s and live in Mississippi in a four-bedroom house that they own. While Tim and Clara both earn regular incomes, however, the linchpin in their budget is the income they...

The Rodriguez’ enjoy a measure of financial health and security. Maria and her husband, Dean, will soon have the first mortgage paid off on their four-bedroom, two-bathroom house. Buttressed by regular payments from Social Security and other federal benefits, the five members of the household...

This is a household profile of a participant in the U.S. Financial Diaries project. Lauren Walker, 29, is a single mother living with her four-year-old son Riley in a rented townhome in a small town in eastern Mississippi. Lauren works full time as an administrative assistant for a local...

The US Financial Diaries track the finances of a small sample of low and moderate-income households over a year. The households faced substantial swings in income from month to month. On average, they experienced 2.5 months when income fell more than 25 percent below average, and 2.6 months when...

In this issue brief, we explain what informal finance is and how informal savings and borrowing tools are used; some reasons why people use such informal tools; the benefits, costs and limits of informal finance; and the implications of these findings for financial services providers and...

This is a household profile of a participant in the U.S. Financial Diaries project. Mike Smith, a single man in his mid-50s, lives in a two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in Kentucky, in a small town near the Ohio River. Even though his resources are limited, he manages to save by strictly controlling...

We deployed field researchers into communities in California, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, and Kentucky to delve into the intimate financial details of approximately 200 households. Over the course of a year, field researchers visited each family once or twice a month, logging detailed information...

New financial services cannot increase household incomes. However, there is tremendous potential for high-quality financial services to help households achieve greater financial health and better manage income uncertainty. In this research note, we explore the concept of uncertain incomes through...