I participated in an Influencer Program on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for MassMutual. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating.
What does the American Dream mean to you? I believe that the American Dream used to mean that with hard work you could succeed and prosper in our country. In some ways I still believe that, but being a member and living on a Native American reservation has clearly showed me that those who live in a cycle of poverty are often unable to attain the “American Dream”. The disparity between those who are living sucessfully and the poor in our country is frightening. Those who are working two jobs are still struggling to get by. This is a scary time for many in our country.
The American Dream for me has become more family related than finance related. Though both are important in creating a legacy for my children and future grandchildren. Living happily and sucessfully as a family and teaching my children to live the same – that’s the American Dream for me and my family.
MassMutual State of the American Family Study
The State of the American Family Study is a biennial survey conducted for MassMutual by the Forbes Consulting Group, LLC. The 2013 study was conducted via a 20-minute online questionnaire. The survey comprised 1,337 interviews with American households with children under age 18 for whom they are financially responsible. Interviews were conducted among men and women ages 25-64 as of 2013 with household incomes greater than $75,000.
The topics that were studied included how Americans define family, perceptions of the American Dream, debt, retirement and more. When I read the findings of this study here’s what I found:
- Values towards finances vary between demographic groups. What did surprise me was that 42% of Caucasians believed that the American Dream was dying. Other ethnic groups in this study still believed in it. {I thought those stats would have been the other way around.}
- When it comes to finances, Americans put family first – which I agreed with and thought was a great sudy finding.
- And like many Americans, I too believe that preparing my children for financial sucess is a key priority.
- Financial Education and planning is key to the Latino population and I agree that it is also key
To learn how MassMutual can help families achieve their American Dream today, please review the MassMutual Family Finances study here.
What does the American Dream mean to you?
Interesting take on things. I believe that you can still work hard and get somewhere in life. The american dream is still alive and well
The American dream is not the same as it once was, as a man can no longer work hard at one job with the wife being able to stay home and raise the children. It now takes both parents working a job and sometimes 2 jobs to make ends meet, and that is with living a conservative lifestyle. Income is not keeping up with the rising costs and I don’t believe there is a true middle class any longer. Even men and women serving in our nation’s forces qualify for food stamps and help and that should never have happened! They put their live’s on the line every day for our safety and that is the thanks that they receive! So sad!