Survey of Consumer Finances, 1951

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 1951 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. 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. Other questions
concerned GI insurance dividends and investment preferences. The 1951
survey included a separate questionnaire for farmers that contained
differing questions on sources of income and housing. 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.