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Bankrate Consumer Survey Poll: How Would You Pay for a $1,000 Unplanned Expense? Reduce Your Spending on Other Things (UNEXPECTEDBR0104)

Observations

2024: 13
Updated: May 28, 2026 3:02 PM CDT
2024:  13  
2023:  16  
2022:  15  
2021:  .  
2020:  18  

Units:

Percent,
Not Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:

Annual,
As of December

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Notes

Title Release Dates
Bankrate Consumer Survey Poll: How Would You Pay for a $1,000 Unplanned Expense? Reduce Your Spending on Other Things 2026-04-02 2026-04-02
 
Source    
Bankrate, LLC 2026-04-02 2026-04-02
 
Release    
Bankrate Consumer Polls 2026-04-02 2026-04-02
 
Units    
Percent 2026-04-02 2026-04-02
 
Frequency    
Annual, As of December 2026-04-02 2026-04-02
 
Seasonal Adjustment    
Not Seasonally Adjusted 2026-04-02 2026-04-02
 
Notes    
This series captures the percentage of U.S. adults indicating their primary method to pay for a $1,000 emergency expense. This survey is typically polled in January or December. Current observation as of December 6th, 2024.

Bankrate has been tracking consumer opinion on financial topics since 2011. Surveys were initially conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI), later by YouGov Plc. and SSRS. Data are collected via telephone (landline/cell) and web surveys, with demographic weighting to ensure representativeness. Margins of error generally range between 2–4 percentage points. Polling Dates:
January 03, 2018 – January 07, 2018
January 02, 2019 – January 06, 2019
December 30, 2019 – January 05, 2020
December 08, 2020 – December 13, 2020
January 04, 2022 – January 09, 2022
December 16, 2022 – December 19, 2022
December 15, 2023 – December 17, 2023
December 06, 2024 – December 09, 2024
Copyright Bankrate, LLC. Bankrate How would you pay for a $1,000 unplanned expense? (https://www.bankrate.com/data-center/paying-for-emergency-expense/)

2026-04-02 2026-04-02

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Personal Finance Bankrate, LLC. Savings Debt Copyrighted: Citation Required Annual Not Seasonally Adjusted