Lending Tree Looks at Americans and their Debt

2007 marks the launch of the first annual LendingTree Smart Borrower Survey. As part of the company's ongoing commitment to borrower education and empowerment the survey contributes to the national dialog about debt in our lives. Its findings and insights will help arm consumers with the information and confidence they need to make savvy and informed borrowing decisions.

The 2007 Smart Borrower Survey follows on the heels of a 2005 study, authored for LendingTree by consumer lending expert Dr. Robert D. Manning, called, "Living with Debt: A Life Stage Analysis of Changing Attitudes and Behaviors." You can view the results of his study by clicking here.

Methodology for the Survey

• The survey was conducted on-line using Survey Sampling's panel of online consumers.
• The survey was conducted by MarketWise, Inc. of Charlotte, North Carolina in March 2007.
• A total of 1,499 respondents participated.
• Sampling error for the total sample of 1,499 respondents is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, at the 95% confidence level. Sampling error will be larger for segments with smaller sample sizes.

At the 95% confidence level:

n=50 is + 13.9 percentage points
n=100 is + 9.8 percentage points
n=150 is + 8.0 percentage points
n=200 is + 6.9 percentage points
n=250 is + 6.2 percentage points
n=300 is + 5.7 percentage points
n=350 is + 5.2 percentage points
n=400 is + 4.9 percentage points
n=500 is + 4.4 percentage points

Smart Borrower Survey Results

Here, you'll find the results from the 2007 Smart Borrower Survey. Feel free to browse the survey summary or dig in deeper to check out the detailed findings and data files.

 Download: Survey Summary [152 KB]

 Download: Survey Summary and Detailed Findings [598 KB]

 Download: Demographic Summary and Detailed Findings [365 KB]

 Download: Demographic Data Set [365 KB]

 Download: Life Stage Data Set [408 KB]

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