Money and the American Family

The AARP/Modern Maturity national survey of adult attitudes toward money paints a picture of an optimistic, practical, even prudent nation when it comes to family and finances. Americans say they want to be millionaires because they value the ways that money can benefit their families and others they care about. However, they also believe that wealth is likely to make people insensitive, greedy and feeling superior to others.

Most Americans also report that money - or lack of it - has had an impact on their lives, such as making it necessary for them to work outside the home instead of staying with their children, to postpone college, or to stay in a marriage due to a lack of financial resources.

The national survey of 2,366 adults over age 18 was conducted by phone during January and February 2000. (pdf, 95 pages)