Hawaii Financial Pulse 2019
Executive Summary
The Hawaii Financial Health Pulse provides a new, in-depth view of the financial struggles faced by people in Hawaii. By using the lens of “financial health” — a comprehensive framework for assessing how people spend, save, borrow, and plan — this study finds that a large majority (69%) of Hawaii residents are struggling financially. It shows the aspects of financial health which are the most difficult and includes a first-ofits-kind comparison with the national population of the United States
In addition to profiling the financial realities of people in Hawaii, this report sheds light on the unique coping strategies that people in Hawaii employ to make ends meet. It concludes with recommendations for how diverse stakeholders in Hawaii — employers, financial institutions, colleges and universities, and policymakers — can use these insights to design actionable solutions to improve financial health for the people of Hawaii.
Key Findings
The majority of people in Hawaii are struggling with one or more aspects of their financial lives:
* Less than one in three people (31%) in Hawaii are Financially Healthy. The remaining 69% are facing financial challenges and are either Financially Coping (54%) or Financially Vulnerable (15%).
° Financial health in Hawaii is similar to national levels, but differs at more granular levels. Compared with national data, people in Hawaii are struggling more with spending and insurance but demonstrating better financial health with regard to savings, planning, and borrowing.
* These financial challenges exist across different aspects of their financial lives. More than half (54%) of people say their spending equals or exceeds their income, almost half (47%) are not confident that their insurance policies will cover them sufficiently in the event of an emergency, and more than one-third (35%) do not have enough savings to cover three months of living expenses.
° People in Hawaii are facing these challenges against the backdrop of volatile incomes and high living expenses. More than one-third (36%) of people in Hawaii have volatile incomes that vary from month to month. One in five people (20%) have trouble paying their mortgage or rent.
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