National Survey Examining Millennial and Gen Z Women's Finances Reveals More Than 30% Do Not Know How Much Credit Card Debt They Are In

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Many Millennial and Gen Z women who have debt don't know how much they owe -- in both credit card and student loan debt, according to a new survey commissioned by national scholarship fund for young women in the U.S., the 1,000 Dreams Fund (1DF), and the web's leading publisher of original consumer credit card related news, CreditCards.com.

In fact, the survey found that 34% of Millennial and Gen Z women don't know how much credit card debt they currently have while 40% don't know precisely how much student loan debt they are in.

These findings come from a survey of 1,241 American women between 18 and 36 years of age, conducted by Toluna Quicksurveys, on young women's finances, including: credit card and student loan debt, how they spend their money, how much money they have in their bank accounts and more.

"Debt and money issues among Millennial and Gen Z women have dominated news headlines lately and for good reason: young people are struggling. We wanted to better understand how these issues are uniquely impacting young women in our country, and frankly it's shocking," says Christie Garton, Founder and CEO of the 1,000 Dreams Fund.

"It's good news that so many young women are actively using cards, as they can be a useful tool for building credit, earning rewards and even saving money in the long run," explained Sienna Kossman, content curator and spokeswoman for CreditCards.com. "However, it's worrisome that many are burdened with and actively worried about card debt. Credit cards should not be viewed as additional income sources when budgets are tight."

The survey is part of a larger series of reports the 1,000 Dreams Fund will release in parts this fall called #StateofTheGirl, which is aimed at uncovering the biggest challenges facing young women in the U.S. today. Additional topics the series will report on this fall include: lifestyle, education/career and politics.

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ADDITIONAL SURVEY FINDINGS

The State of Millennial and Gen Z Women and Student Loan Debt

• 67% have (or had) student loan debt
• Of those with student loan debt, 20% currently have between $5,001 – $10,000, 19% have between $10,001 - $25,000, 22% have between $25,001 - $50,000 and 12% have $50,001 or more
• 41% do not/did not receive any scholarships to help pay for their education
• For those respondents who have student loans, 94% of respondents are worried about their ability to pay them back

The State of Millennial and Gen Z Women and Credit Card Debt

• 67% of 18-36 year-old women have at least one credit card and 79% of cardholders have credit card debt
• 61% of those with credit card debt worry about it at least occasionally, including 42% who said always or frequently
• The most popular answer for not having a credit card is "worried about getting into debt" (53%)

The full survey report is available upon request. To see all the findings, please contact DavEllePR at [email protected] or at 917-370-6016.

About the 1,000 Dreams Fund:
The 1,000 Dreams Fund (1DF) is a national scholarship fund for American girls in high school and college. The 1DF believes that big expenses should never stand in the way of big dreams. Since its launch in 2015, over $35,000 in funding has been granted to talented young women in need, helping them pay for the "extras" in school like study abroad, tech devices for the classroom and travel to conferences and seminars. To learn more about their work, visit http://1000dreamsfund.org/.

About CreditCards.com:
CreditCards.com is a leading online credit card marketplace, bringing consumers and credit card issuers together. At its free website, consumers can compare hundreds of credit card offers from America's leading issuers and banks and apply securely, online. CreditCards.com is also a destination site for consumers wanting to learn more about credit cards. Offering advice, news, features, statistics and tools, CreditCards.com helps consumers make smart choices about credit cards. In 2015, over 27 million unique visitors used CreditCards.com to find the right credit card to suit their needs.

About Toluna Quicksurveys:
This survey was run with SmartSelect™, a respondent selection methodology used to promote sample representativeness. SmartSelect relies on statistical matching rather than probability sampling and selects respondents based on demographic, attitudinal and behavioral characteristics that match those of the target population. SmartSelect weights on age, gender, region, ethnicity, race and education. To learn more, please visit: https://www.quicksurveys.com/.

SOURCE 1,000 Dreams Fund