Survey of Consumer Finances, 1955

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
1955 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, 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,
satisfaction with home and space, expected duration of tenure there,
mortgage information, budgeting, handling of family finances, use of
installment plans, and changes in liquid assets. 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.