Financial Literacy written on a notepad sheet. Credit/AdobeStock

It's fair to say most, if not all, adults aspire to becoming financially free. For some, financial freedom may mean buying a home, starting a business, or traveling the world. For others, it's simply being able to afford the basic necessities without constantly stressing about money.

According to a recent Experian survey, 54% of Americans define financial freedom as not having debt. Another 33% define financial freedom as having a substantial emergency fund, while 33% of U.S. adults feel it means having the ability to pay their current bills for six months without worry. It's a powerful reminder of the impact that debt and our personal finances can have on our lives.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited CUTimes.com content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking credit union news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Shared Accounts podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the commercial real estate and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, GlobeSt.com and ThinkAdvisor.com
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.