Optimists are seven times more likely to experience greater financial health than pessimists, according to a recent Frost Bank study.
TRUE Global Intelligence, the in-house research practice of FleishmanHillard, in partnership with positive psychology researcher Michelle Gielan, sampled 2,002 Americans, aged 18 and older, from September 20-28, 2018.
The results of their survey are part of Frost Bank’s “Opt for Optimism” initiative to help people unlock the power of optimism and improve their physical, emotional and financial health.
The bank launched the initiative in response to rising uncertainty, isolation and stress levels Americans are experiencing, said Ericka Pullin, senior vice president of research and strategy at Frost Bank. She said the bank’s research found that two-thirds of Americans feel they are just getting by financially, and more than half said finances control their lives at times. However, Pullin said, an optimistic mind set can have a positive effect on a person’s financial health.
The survey identified a corresponding relationship between optimism and financial health, regardless of wealth, income and other factors. It found that 90 percent of optimists have saved for a major purchase, compared with 70 percent of pessimists; 75 percent of optimists found creative ways to save money, compared with 60 percent of pessimists; and 61 percent of optimists had started an emergency fund, compared with 43 percent of pessimists.
Gielan said that optimism is defined as the expectation that good things will happen and the belief that behavior influences that outcome in the face of challenges to it. She said that the survey was conducted to narrow that scope to money management behaviors.
Because the survey found that 91 percent of Americans want to be more optimistic, Frost Bank recommended new habits people can adopt to improve their optimism and financial health.
One of the bank’s recommendations included taking the taboo out of discussing money, which 76 percent of optimists say they are comfortable doing, compared with 53 percent of pessimists. The survey also found that a majority of optimists were more interested than a majority of pessimists in learning about money by seeking expert financial advice.
Optimists conceded that while they were not perfect and still experienced financial stress (81 days on average), 59 percent said they felt optimistic because they were making progress toward their personal financial goals.
The survey also found that although optimists still faced financial setbacks, they experienced them at a reduced average of half those experienced by pessimists. In addition, the survey found that optimists, unlike pessimists, viewed those setbacks as a learning opportunity.