New Study Highlights Numerous Ways Americans Are Building Wealth Amid Inflation – Yahoo Finance
Adrian Vidal / Getty Images/iStockphoto
Although the Federal Reserve Board is continuing to fight the current stretch of high inflation in the U.S. by steadily hiking benchmark interest rates, global influences like the Russia-Ukraine war and supply chain bottlenecks may prolong the bout longer than most expect.
Wealthy Millennials Aren’t Banking on Stocks: Here’s What They’re Investing In Instead
Find: 5 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000
And with the constant threat of a recession looming, Americans are pursuing numerous ways to combat inflation by actively building their financial worth. According to a new study by the Western & Southern Financial Group (W&S), 62% of Americans credit inflation for strengthening their commitment to building personal wealth.
The study found that Americans are building wealth using a variety of strategies and for a variety of reasons, including creating an emergency fund for their families, setting themselves up for retirement, staying fiscally sound during inflation and easing their financial worries.
The increased prevalence of businesses using YouTube as a marketing tool seems to be paying off, as it is the most popular source to learn about building wealth, according to W&S. Per survey results, individuals (30%) are using YouTube more than asking family members (29%), financial advisors (28%) or friends (27%) about financial and wealth-building matters.
Financial knowledge is also being sought through Google searches (27%), participating in financial workshops (23%) and consulting other social media platforms like Instagram (21%), Facebook (17%) and Reddit forums (15%).
The survey, which asked over 1,000 Americans about personal wealth-forging approaches and financial advice resources, found that the average American has just $1,000 to $5,000 in savings, but almost 98% of those surveyed profess to have at least one wealth-building strategy in place.
Aside from focusing budgeting on investing (37%), diversifying existing assets (31%), prioritizing salary over other aspects of a career (30%) and generating multiple income streams (17%), the four most popular wealth-building strategies, according to Western & Southern’s survey, are below. The full study — which also includes top wealth-building motivations and generational breakdown data — can be read here.
1. Allocating Money to Savings (48%)
Not surprisingly, 48% of respondents overall said they are focusing on budgeting with the goal of saving. With such an emphasis on creating emergency funds, saving money by tweaking or starting a budget is the first and favored plan of action for many. It’s also a strategy that can be started immediately and reap rewards in little time.
2. Playing the Stock Market (48%)
Not many people have the convenience to roll the dice or “play” with their assets …….