Nearly Half of Debt-distressed Confess “No Confidence” in Handling Financial Emergency

Leading nonprofit learns that 49 percent of visitors to Web site say $1,000 emergency would overwhelm

Posted on July 14, 2009

(Orlando, FL) — A new report released by InCharge Debt Solutions (IDS) finds that 49 percent of those who utilized an online tool on the IDS Web site (www.InCharge.org) confessed to having “no confidence” they could find the money to pay for a financial emergency costing about $1,000. Overall, 94 percent indicated they have “no confidence” to “above average confidence,” leaving only 6 percent professing “high confidence” they would be able to handle that hypothetical emergency.

IDS is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit credit counseling organizations, providing free counseling to consumers struggling with excessive debt by analyzing their financial situations and offering educational resources, possible solutions and budgeting assistance to help them save money so they can handle these types of financial emergencies

The report was compiled from data IDS has been capturing since April 2009 from its online “Debt Stress Gauge.” This tool measures a consumers’ “debt stress level” by asking Web site visitors to answer a series of questions about their financial situation, resulting in a “less stressed” or “more stressed” calculation. In addition to the query about a financial emergency requiring approximately $1,000, the slider guide asks visitors questions such as:

• How frequently do you find yourself just getting by financially and living paycheck to paycheck?
• How much do you have in savings to pay your revolving debt?
• How much do you owe in revolving debt?
• How stressed do you feel about your personal finances and debt in general?

In the coming months, the Debt Stress Gauge will capture trends that will be reported by IDS in what it will call the “Debt Stress Indicators.” This data will be a meaningful snapshot of the mental and financial pulse of America’s financially distressed consumers.

For more information about InCharge Debt Solutions, visit www.InCharge.org or call 1-888-360-9694.

About InCharge® Debt Solutions

Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, InCharge Debt Solutions (IDS) provides professional credit counseling and personal money management education to consumers and is a member of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA). IDS is one of the unique organizations to be dually accredited by both ISO 9001-2008 Quality Standards and the Council on Accreditation (COA). Consumers can access InCharge Debt Solutions credit counseling services for free by calling 1-888-360-9694 or online at www.InCharge.org.