85% of LGBTQ+ Americans experience financial anxiety: survey

By Talker Staff

A new survey has uncovered the hurdles that still exist within the LGBTQ+ community — some of which are financial.

More than four in 10 LGBTQ+ consumers say their banks’ policies and values don’t match their own. What’s more, 85% of LGBTQ+ Americans say they deal with financial anxiety, and only a sliver of the LGBTQ+ community describes their financial situation as excellent.

Forbes Advisor conducted a survey to uncover how LGBTQ+ individuals feel about the state of their finances, what their spending habits look like and what financial challenges they currently face. Here’s what they found.

Most Say Their Spending Habits Align With Their Financial Priorities

The majority of survey participants appear to be spending in accordance with their priorities. More than two-thirds (71%) of heterosexual individuals said their spending habits align with their financial priorities, and 65% of LGBTQ+ individuals said the same.

When asked to select up to three top financial priorities, participants in both groups were focused on saving for retirement, earning more money and creating an emergency fund. Saving for retirement was the most common choice for both LGBTQ+ (41%) and heterosexual (42%) respondents.

But the two groups also had some differing financial priorities. For example, heterosexual respondents were far more likely to prioritize paying off debt (35%) and investing (16%) compared to LGBTQ+ respondents (16% and 7%, respectively).

On the other hand, LGBTQ+ respondents were more likely than heterosexual respondents to prioritize buying a home (29% versus 18%), buying a car (27% versus 13%) and saving for family planning (23% versus 11%). But bear in mind that home ownership among the broader LGBTQ+ community is still lower than it is among heterosexuals.

This suggests that while both groups are focused on building a strong financial foundation, specific adulthood milestones like buying a house and starting a family are a bigger financial priority within the LGBTQ+ community.

Despite Good Financial Situations and Spending Habits, Financial Anxiety Persists

Despite a generally positive outlook on their financial situations, 85% of LGBTQ+ adults and 79% of heterosexual adults experience financial anxiety.

In terms of frequency, about one in five respondents across both groups experienced daily financial anxiety. However, 31% of LGBTQ+ adults said they experience anxiety about their finances weekly compared to 26% of heterosexual individuals. LGBTQ+ members were also more likely to experience financial anxiety on a monthly basis (29% versus 25%).

When asked what aspects of their finances cause the most anxiety, “paying for everyday expenses” was the top culprit for both groups. Low income was also a common source of anxiety for heterosexual respondents (20%), while less common for LGBTQ+ respondents (9%).

For LGBTQ+ individuals, unpaid bills were the second most common money worry—16% of them selected this compared to 11% of heterosexual respondents.

While at first glance, these two sources of anxiety seem like different sides of the same coin, it’s possible there are other factors at play making it harder for LGBTQ+ individuals to stay on top of their bills.

Editorial Note: This story was originally published on Forbes Advisor.