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Wisconsin: Finances

Evaluation of Personal Financial Situation
Trend in Personal Financial Situation
Financial Investments
Personal Spending
Mortgage Payments

Evaluation of Personal Financial Situation

Poll	Date	Getting ahead	Falling behind	Holding steady	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Quinnipiac¹	September 14-21, 2008	12%	24%	63%	1%	1,313 LV	± 2.7
Quinnipiac¹	July 14-22, 2008	10%	25%	64%	1%	1,094 LV	± 3.0
Quinnipiac¹	June 17-24, 2008	13%	24%	62%	1%	1,537 LV	± 2.5

1 "Which best describes your family's financial situation: getting ahead, falling behind, or holding steady?"

Evaluation of Personal Financial Situation

Poll	Date	In debt	About even	Ahead	No opinion	Sample	MoE
SurveyUSA¹	February 15-17, 2008	44%	31%	23%	2%	600	± 4.1
SurveyUSA¹	November 11-13, 2005	38%	39%	20%	3%	600	± 4.1

1 "Thinking about your money ... are you in debt, are you about even, or are you ahead?"

Most Worrisome Economic Issue For Personal Finances

Economic issue¹	June 17-24, 2008	July 14-2008	September 14-21, 2008
Rising gasoline prices	43%	42%	35%
Rising health care costs	21%	23%	22%
Rising food prices	15%	15%	13%
Declining retirement fund values	10%	12%	16%
Declining real estate values	6%	5%	9%
No opinion	5%	4%	5%
Poll	Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac	Quinnipiac
Sample	1,537 LV	1,094 LV	1,313 LV
MoE	± 2.5	± 3.0	± 2.7

1 "As you think about your own financial situation, which of the following economic issues worries you the most right now...?"

Trend in Personal Financial Situation

Financial Situation Compared to One Year Ago

Poll	Date	Better off	About the same	Worse off	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Humphrey Institute¹	October 14-19, 2004	25%	47%	28%	0%	504 LV	± 4.0
Humphrey Institute¹	June 21 – July 12, 2004	26%	47%	27%	1%	575 RV	± 4.0
WPR / St. Norbert College²	April 14-21, 2004	41%	26%	32%	1%	402	± 5.0
WPR / St. Norbert College²	October 27 - November 6, 2003	37%	24%	38%	1%	401	± 5.0
WPR / St. Norbert College²	March 6-14, 2003	36%	20%	43%	1%	401	± 4.9
WPR / St. Norbert College²	October 16-27, 2002	31%	18%	50%	1%	382 LV	± 5.0
WPR / St. Norbert College²	March 20 – April 7, 2002	35%	28%	36%	1%	407	± 4.9
WPR / St. Norbert College²	October 18-24, 2000	57%	23%	19%	1%	413 LV	± 4.8
WPR / St. Norbert College²	October 11-24, 1999	55%	23%	21%	1%	403	± 4.8
WPR / St. Norbert College²	October 8-20, 1998	45%	30%	25%	1%	415 LV	± 4.8

1 "We are interested in how people are getting along financially these days. Would you say that you and the people in your household are better off, worse off, or just about the same financially as you were a year ago?"

2 "Would you say that you are financially better off now than you were a year ago, or financially worse off now?"

Financial Situation Under Bush Administration

Poll	Date	Better off	About the same	Worse off	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Los Angeles Times¹	June 5-8, 2004	24%	30%	45%	1%	694 RV	± 4.0

1 "Would you say you, yourself, are better off financially than you were when George W. Bush became president more than three years ago, or worse off, or in about the same financial shape as you were then?"

Predication of Future Financial Situation

Pollster	Date	Better	Same (vol.)	Worse	No opinion	Sample	MoE
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	March 25 – April 5, 2008	47%	17%	30%	6%	400	± 5.0
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	October 30 – November 8, 2007	44%	21%	28%	6%	401	± 5.0
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	April 3-17, 2007	44%	27%	25%	5%	400	± 5.0
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	October 9-16, 2006	56%	25%	16%	4%	400 LV	± 5.0
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	March 29 – April 7, 2006	45%	24%	25%	6%	400	± 5.0
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	October 31 – November 11, 2005	40%	18%	38%	4%	400	± 5.0
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	April 25 - May 4, 2005	42%	25%	29%	4%	400	± 5.0
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	April 14-21, 2004	57%	19%	16%	9%	402	± 5.0
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	October 27 - November 6, 2003	57%	14%	22%	7%	401	± 5.0
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	March 6-14, 2003	53%	17%	26%	4%	401	± 4.9
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	October 16-27, 2002	56%	13%	22%	9%	382 LV	± 5.0
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	March 20 – April 7, 2002	54%	22%	15%	9%	407	± 4.9
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	October 18-24, 2000	64%	20%	9%	7%	413 LV	± 4.8
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	October 11-24, 1999	63%	15%	20%	2%	403	± 4.8
WPR / St. Norbert College¹	October 8-20, 1998	56%	21%	17%	6%	415 LV	± 4.8

1 "Do you expect that at this time next year you will be financially better off than now, or worse off than now?"

Financial Investments

Ownership of More Than $5,000 Stocks, Bonds, or Mutual Funds

Poll	Date	Yes	No	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Rasmussen¹	October 6, 2008	69%	25%	6%	500 LV	± 4.5
Rasmussen¹	May 5, 2008	62%	31%	6%	500 LV	± 4.5

1 "Do you own more than $5,000 of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds?"

Personal Spending

Trend in Spending On Holiday Gifts

Poll	Date	More than last year	Less than last year	About the same	No opinion	Sample	MoE
Rasmussen¹	December 5, 2007	21%	48%	28%	2%	500 LV	± 4.5

1 "This holiday season, will you spend more or less on gifts than you did last year?"

Mortgage Payments

Mortgage Payments Status

Poll	Date	Ahead of schedule	On schedule	Behind schedule	No opinion	Sample	MoE
SurveyUSA¹	February 15-17, 2008	23%	70%	7%	0%	314	± 5.2

1 "Are you making your mortgage payments ahead of schedule, on schedule, or behind schedule?" Asked of individuals with mortgages.