What Tool do People Use to Track Their Finances?

A recent representative Google Survey of 2,000 American adults asked “What tool do you use to track your finances?”

The survey found that 14% of Americans use spreadsheets to track their finances, which is approximately 24 million people based on U.S. Census data of the adult population size as of July 2018.

• 31.6% don’t track their finances at all
• 24.5% use pen and paper to track their finances
• 15.5% use a program on their computer
• 14.4% use a smartphone app
• 14% use spreadsheets

The Google Survey results are publicly viewable at this link. The survey ran from September 2 – September 4 2019, with 2,006 respondents.

Google Surveys uses a two-step process to ensure each survey’s representativeness. First,  stratified sampling dynamically targets respondents with the goal of matching the demographics of the target internet population. Next, post-stratification weighting is applied to more closely match those same demographics of the target internet population.

You can find a full description of the Google Surveys methodology in this whitepaper or in the product overview.

Learn more about the differences between representative samples and convenience samples, and how each option provides relevant data.

AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative

Google Surveys is a member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research’s (AAPOR) Transparency Initiative. The initiative was founded in 2014 and establishes disclosure standards for organizations who run and publish surveys. By joining the initiative, Google Surveys pledges to uphold these disclosure standards when publishing results.