Survey of Consumer Finances, 1958

This data collection is one in a series of financial
surveys of consumers conducted annually since 1946. In a nationally
representative sample, the head of each spending unit (usually the
husband, the main earner, or the owner of the home) was interviewed.
The basic unit of reference in the study was the spending unit, but
some family data are also available. The questions in the 1958 survey
covered the respondent's attitudes toward national economic conditions
and price activity, as well as the respondent's own financial situation.
Other questions examined the spending unit head's occupation, and the
nature and amount of the spending unit's income, debts, liquid assets,
changes in liquid assets, savings, investment preferences, and actual
and expected purchases of cars and other major durables. The survey
also elicited respondent's attitudes about different methods of using
income remaining after expenses were met, e.g., investing in stocks or
putting money in savings. In addition, the survey explored in detail
the subject of housing, e.g., previous and present home ownership,
value of respondent's dwelling, and mortgage information. Respondents
also were asked for the details of the head's employment (e.g., full-
or part-time and number of weeks in the year employed) and
unemployment status. Personal data include number of people in the
spending unit, age, sex, and education of the head, and the race and
sex of the respondent.