• by Aaron Baar , April 14, 2008

Perhaps not surprisingly, given concerns about mortgage rates and credit card debt, Americans consider being debt-free as a top measure of financial success, according to new research data from Synovate.

According to the research, which surveyed 12,500 people in 15 countries about definitions of financial success, 61% of Americans believe having no debt is one of the top measures of defining financial success. Some 42% said having financial security such as investments and a fully funded retirement was one of the top three measures. Only 19% said being able to buy whatever they wanted without cost concerns was a measure of success.

"[Americans] worry about debt," Claire Braverman, Synovate's SVP/financial services in the U.S., tells Marketing Daily, noting that concerns about sub-prime mortgage lending bleeding into other economic areas and continued rising credit card debt fueled those concerns. "[But] part of being an advanced culture is debt, and keeping conscious of how to control that debt."

(The survey did not differentiate between long-term debts, such as mortgages and car payments, and short-term debts such as credit card balances.)

Despite worries about debt, many Americans don't define success as being able to get what you want all the time. According to Synovate, 91% of Americans said financial success was about being able to afford what you need, not get everything you want. Still, two-thirds of the respondents said they would be happier with more money, and 61% of them said they regularly think about how they can get more money. (Comparatively, only 36% of Argentines and 42% of Russians felt having more money would make them happier.)

Americans were also worried that attaining their financial goals could come at too high a cost. Forty percent of them agreed that the time it takes to become financially successful is not worth the time it takes away from other things, and 36% agreed with the notion that having more money brings more problems.

"Money allows you more choices in life, and it can ease your pain points," Braverman says. "But there are still grounded people who say life isn't just about money. There are still many people who are not viewing money as solving all of life's problems."

Debt concerns were also high on the list of defining financial success in other developed countries, such as the UK, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. In emerging countries such as Russia, South Africa and Bulgaria, providing education and opportunities for the next generation were prominent definitions of financial success. "Once you have food and clothing, the next thing [people in emerging markets] want is a better life for their children," Braverman says, adding that this definition can also extend to people from those emerging markets that have recently emigrated to the U.S.

Consumers in emerging markets were also much more likely to attribute financial success to good luck, rather than good financial management, Braverman says. (Only 16% of Americans responded that way.) Consumers in emerging markets also spend more time thinking about how to get more money than those in developed countries.

One positive sign in the U.S.--particularly for financial services marketers--was including retirement planning and long-term investing as a definition of financial success, Braverman says. "It's more prevalent across all of our society--even younger folks are thinking about it more," she says. "If you're marketing financial products, there's a huge opportunity. As we work with investment firms, [we find] they're not targeting the youth as much as they could."

Despite these differences, Synovate's survey showed that developed and emerging cultures share many similarities. "The commonality across people is fascinating," Braverman says. "They want to provide for their families, have food and rent paid for, and own property, no matter where they're from."