An optimistic attitude about money leads to improved financial health managing it, according to a study conducted by Frost Bank, headquartered in San Antonio.
From September 20-28, 2018, TRUE Global Intelligence, the in-house research practice of FleishmanHillard, and positive psychology expert Michelle Gielan surveyed 2,002 Americans online, aged 18 years and older, in both English and Spanish.
Frost based its study on the premise that life’s challenges are only temporary, and that people can feel inspired to take meaningful steps toward improvement of their situation through an optimistic attitude.
The bank found that while 59 percent of Americans said their finances controlled their lives at least some of the time and that 87 percent reported having experienced one or more financial setbacks, 62 percent of optimists exhibited better financial health—nearly seven times higher than pessimists at 9 percent.
A majority of both optimists (76 percent) and pessimists (53 percent) felt comfortable discussing money with family and friends. However, while a majority of optimists (59 percent) said they seek out financial advice from experts or resources, only 42 percent of pessimists said they do the same. Two-thirds of optimists (63 percent) said they also follow the financial advice they receive from those sources all or most of the time, compared with 40 percent of pessimists.
According to Gielan, who is quoted in the study, optimism is not genetically exclusive to any single person or group.
“Anyone can increase their optimism by adopting optimistic behaviors,” she said.
In an interview with Financial Advisor, Gielan and Ericka Pullin, Frost Bank’s senior vice president of research and strategy, discussed the study’s premise and its findings.
Gielan summed up the definition of financial health as established by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which measures it on a scale from 0-100.
“Financial health is about having a little bit of extra money,” she said.