data_dictionary.md

About the Survey of Consumer Finances

From the US Federal Reserve website:

The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is a survey conducted every three years to gather information about the finances and demographics of families in the United States. The survey data provides details on families' balance sheets, pensions, income, and other characteristics. Additionally, information from related surveys of pension providers, as well as earlier surveys conducted by the Federal Reserve Board, is included. This survey is the only one of its kind that collects comparable information for the country. The data collected from the SCF is widely used, from analysis at the Federal Reserve and other government branches to scholarly work at major economic research centers.

SCF Combined Extract Data

Feature	Description
ACTBUS	Total value of actively managed business(es), 2019 dollars
AGE	Age of reference person
AGECL	Age group of the reference person
ANNUIT	Amount R would receive if they cashed in annuities, 2019 dollars
ANYPEN	Pension exists for either reference person or spouse
ASSET	Total value of assets held by household, 2019 dollars
ASSETCAT	Asset percentile groups
BCALL	Information used for borrowing decisions
BDONT	Information used for borrowing decisions
BFINPLAN	Information used for borrowing decisions
BFINPRO	Information used for borrowing decisions
BFRIENDWORK	Information used for borrowing decisions
BINTERNET	Information used for borrowing decisions
BMAGZNEWS	Information used for borrowing decisions
BMAILADTV	Information used for borrowing decisions
BNKRUPLAST5	Household has declared bankruptcy in the past 5 years
BOND	Total value of directly held bonds held by household, 2019 dollars
BOTHER	Information used for borrowing decisions
BPLANCJ	Either reference person or spouse/partner has both types of pension plan on a current job
BSELF	Information used for borrowing decisions
BSHOPGRDL	Shopping for borrowing and credit
BSHOPMODR	Shopping for borrowing and credit
BSHOPNONE	Shopping for borrowing and credit
BUS	Total value of business(es) in which the household has either an active or nonactive interest, 2019 dollars
BUSSEFARMINC	Income from business, sole proprietorship, and farm, 2019 dollars
BUSVEH	Household has vehicle(s) owned by business
CALL	Total value of call accounts held by household, 2019 dollars
CANTMANG	Why no checking account
CASEID	Case ID (numeric)
CASHLI	Total cash value of whole life insurance held by household, 2019 dollars
CCBAL	Total value of credit card balances held by household, 2019 dollars
CDS	Total value of certificates of deposit held by household, 2019 dollars
CHECKING	Total value of checking accounts held by household, 2019 dollars
CKCONNECTN	Why chose main checking account institution
CKCONVPAYRL	Why chose main checking account institution
CKLOCATION	Why chose main checking account institution
CKLONGTIME	Why chose main checking account institution
CKLOWFEEBAL	Why chose main checking account institution
CKMANYSVCS	Why chose main checking account institution
CKOTHCHOOSE	Why chose main checking account institution
CKPERSONAL	Why chose main checking account institution
CKRECOMFRND	Why chose main checking account institution
CKSAFETY	Why chose main checking account institution
COMUTF	amount in combination and other mutual funds, 2019 dollars
CONSPAY	total monthly consumer debt payments, 2019 dollars
CPI_DEFL	Deflator Value
CREDIT	Why no checking account
CURRPEN	current value in pension, 2019 dollars
DBPLANCJ	Either reference person or spouse/partner has a defined benefit pension on a current job
DBPLANT	Either reference person or spouse/partner has DB plan on current job or some type of pension from a past job to be received in the future
DCPLANCJ	Either reference person or spouse/partner has any type of account-based plan on a current job
DEBT	Total value of debt held by household, 2019 dollars
DEBT2INC	Ratio of total debt to total income
DEQ	Total value of equity in directly held stocks, stock mutual funds, and combination mutual funds held by household, 2019 dollars
DONTLIKE	Why no checking account
DONTWANT	Why no checking account
DONTWRIT	Why no checking account
EDCL	Education category of reference person
EDN_INST	Total value of education loans held by household, 2019 dollars
EDUC	Highest completed grade by reference person
EHCHKG	people w/o checking accounts
EMERGBORR	Respondent would borrow money in a hypothetical financial emergency
EMERGCUT	Respondent would cut back spending in a hypothetical financial emergency
EMERGPSTP	Respondent would postpone payments in a hypothetical financial emergency
EMERGSAV	Respondent would spend out of savings in a hypothetical financial emergency
EQUITINC	ratio of equity to normal income
EQUITY	Total value of financial assets held by household that are invested in stock, 2019 dollars
EXPENSHILO	Households overall expenses over last 12 months
FAMSTRUCT	Family structure of household
FARMBUS_KG	capital gains on farm businesses, 2019 dollars
FARMBUS	compute value of business part of farm net of outstanding mortgages, 2019 dollars
FEARDENIAL	Household feared being denied credit in the past 5 years
FIN	Total value of financial assets held by household, 2019 dollars
FINLIT	Number of financial literacy questions answered correctly
FOODAWAY	Total amount spent on food away from home, annualized, 2019 dollars
FOODDELV	Total amount spent on food delivered to home, annualized, 2019 dollars
FOODHOME	Total amount spent on food at home, annualized, 2019 dollars
FORECLLAST5	Respondent had a foreclosure in the last five years
FUTPEN	future pensions (accumulated in an account for the R/S), 2019 dollars
GBMUTF	amount in government bond mutual funds, 2019 dollars
GOVTBND	US government and government agency bonds and bills, 2019 dollars
HBORRALT	Respondent would borrow money from alternative sources in a hypothetical financial emergency
HBORRCC	Respondent would borrow money using a credit card in a hypothetical financial emergency
HBORRFF	Respondent would borrow money from friends or family in a hypothetical financial emergency
HBORRFIN	Respondent would borrow money from financial services in a hypothetical financial emergency
HBROK	have a brokerage account
HBUS	Have active or non-actively managed business(es)
HCUTENT	Respondent would postpone payments for entertainment in a hypothetical financial emergency
HCUTFOOD	Respondent would cut back on food purchases in a hypothetical financial emergency
HCUTOTH	Respondent would postpone other payments in a hypothetical financial emergency
HDEBT	Household has any debt
HELOC_YN	Currently borrowing on home equity line of credit
HELOC	Total value of home equity lines of credit secured by the primary residence held by the household, 2019 dollars
HHSEX	Gender of household reference person
HLIQ	Household has any checking, savings, money market or call accounts
HMORT2	Have junior lien mortgage not used for purchase of primary residence
HOMEEQ	Total value of equity in primary residence of household, 2019 dollars
HOUSECL	Home-ownership category of household
HOUSES	Total value of primary residence of household, 2019 dollars
HPAYDAY	Household had a payday loan within the past year
HPRIM_MORT	Have first lien mortgage on primary residence
HPSTPLN	Respondent would postpone payments on loans in a hypothetical financial emergency
HPSTPOTH	Respondent would postpone other payments in a hypothetical financial emergency
HPSTPPAY	Respondent would postpone payments for purchases in a hypothetical financial emergency
HSAVFIN	Respondent would spend out of financial sources in a hypothetical financial emergency
HSAVNFIN	Respondent would spend out of non-financial sources in a hypothetical financial emergency
HSEC_MORT	Have junior lien mortgage on primary residence
HSTOCKS	have stocks?
HTRAD	traded in the past year
ICALL	Information used for investing decisions
IDONT	Information used for investing decisions
IFINPLAN	Information used for investing decisions
IFINPRO	Information used for investing decisions
IFRIENDWORK	Information used for investing decisions
IINTERNET	Information used for investing decisions
IMAGZNEWS	Information used for investing decisions
IMAILADTV	Information used for investing decisions
INCCAT	Income percentile groups
INCOME	Total amount of income of household, 2019 dollars
INCPCTLECAT	Alternate income percentile groups
INCQRTCAT	Income quartile groups
INDCAT	Industry classifications for reference person
INSTALL	Total value of installment loans held by household, 2019 dollars
INTDIVINC	Interest (taxable and nontaxable) and dividend income, 2019 dollars
INTERNET	Do business with financial institution via the Internet
IOTHER	Information used for investing decisions
IRAKH	Total value of IRA/Keogh accounts, 2019 dollars
ISELF	Information used for investing decisions
ISHOPGRDL	Shopping for saving and investments
ISHOPMODR	Shopping for saving and investments
ISHOPNONE	Shopping for saving and investments
KGBUS	Unrealized capital gains or losses on businesses, 2019 dollars
KGHOUSE	Unrealized capital gains or losses on the primary residence, 2019 dollars
KGINC	Capital gain or loss income, 2019 dollars
KGINC	Capital gain or loss income, 2019 dollars
KGORE	Unrealized capital gains or losses on other real estate, 2019 dollars
KGSTMF	Unrealized capital gains or losses on stocks and mutual funds, 2019 dollars
KGTOTAL	Total unrealized capital gains or losses for the household, 2019 dollars
KIDS	Total number of children in household
KNOWL	Respondent's knowledge of personal finances
LATE	Household had any late debt payments in last year
LATE60	Household had any debt payments more than 60 days past due in last year
LEASE	have leased vehicle
LEVRATIO	Ratio of total debt to total assets
LF	Labor force participation of reference person
LIFECL	Life cycle of reference person
LIQ	Total value of all types of transactions accounts, 2019 dollars
LLOAN1	Total balance of household loans where the lender is a commercial bank, 2019 dollars
LLOAN10	Total balance of household loans where the lender is a store and/or a credit card, 2019 dollars
LLOAN11	Total balance of household loans where the lender is a pension, 2019 dollars
LLOAN12	Total balance of household loans where the lender is other, unclassifiable, or foreign, 2019 dollars
LLOAN2	Total balance of household loans where the lender is saving and loan, 2019 dollars
LLOAN3	Total balance of household loans where the lender is credit union, 2019 dollars
LLOAN4	Total balance of household loans where the lender is finance, loan or leasing company, or inc debt consolidator, 2019 dollars
LLOAN5	Total balance of household loans where the lender is a brokerage and/or life insurance company, 2019 dollars
LLOAN6	Total balance of household loans where the lender is a real estate company, 2019 dollars
LLOAN7	Total balance of household loans where the lender is an individual, 2019 dollars
LLOAN8	Total balance of household loans where the lender is an other non-financial, 2019 dollars
LLOAN9	Total balance of household loans where the lender is government, 2019 dollars
MARRIED	Marital status of reference person
MINBAL	Why no checking account
MMA	Total value of money market deposit and money market mutual fund accounts, 2019 dollars
MMDA	money market deposit accounts, 2019 dollars
MMMF	money market mutual funds, 2019 dollars
MORT1	Amount owed on mortgage 1, 2019 dollars
MORT2	Amount owed on mortgage 2, 2019 dollars
MORT3	Amount owed on mortgage 3, 2019 dollars
MORTBND	mortgage-backed bonds, 2019 dollars
MORTPAY	total monthly mortgage payments, 2019 dollars
MRTHEL	Total value of debt secured by the primary residence held by household, 2019 dollars
NBUSVEH	Total number of business vehicles held by household
NETWORTH	Total net worth of household, 2019 dollars
NEWCAR1	number of car/truck/SUV with model year no older than two years before the survey
NEWCAR2	number of car/truck/SUV with model year no older than one year before the survey
NFIN	Total value of non-financial assets held by household, 2019 dollars
NH_MORT	Total value of mortgages and home equity loans secured by the primary residence held by household, 2019 dollars
NHNFIN	total non-financial assets excluding principal residences, 2019 dollars
NINCCAT	Normal income percentile groups
NINCPCTLECAT	Alternate Normal income percentile groups
NINCQRTCAT	Normal income quartile groups
NLEASE	number of leased vehicles
NMMF	Total value of directly held pooled investment funds held by household, 2019 dollars
NNRESRE	Total value of net equity in nonresidential real estate held by household, 2019 dollars
NOCCBAL	Household does not carry a balance on credit cards
NOCHK	Household has no checking account
NOFINRISK	Respondent not willing to take financial risk
NOMONEY	Why no checking account
NONACTBUS	Value of non-actively managed business(es), 2019 dollars
NORMINC	Household normal income, 2019 dollars
NOTXBND	tax-exempt bonds (state and local bonds), 2019 dollars
NOWN	number of owned vehicles
NSTOCKS	number different companies in which hold stock
NTRAD	number of trades per year
NVEHIC	total number of vehicles (owned and leased)
NWCAT	Net worth percentile groups
NWPCTLECAT	Alternate net worth percentile groups
OBMUTF	amount in other bond mutual funds, 2019 dollars
OBND	corporate and foreign bonds, 2019 dollars
OCCAT1	Occupation categories for reference person
OCCAT2	Occupation classification for reference person
ODEBT	Total value of other debts held by household, 2019 dollars
OMUTF	amount in other mutual funds, 2019 dollars
ORESRE	Total value of other residential real estate held by household, 2019 dollars
OTH_INST	Total value of other installment loans held by household, 2019 dollars
OTHER	Why no checking account
OTHFIN	Total value of other financial assets, 2019 dollars
OTHLOC	Total value of other lines of credit held by household, 2019 dollars
OTHMA	Total value of other managed assets held by household, 2019 dollars
OTHNFIN	Total value of other non-financial assets held by household, 2019 dollars
OWN	have an owned vehicle
PAYEDU1	payments on first education loan, 2019 dollars
PAYEDU2	payments on second education loan, 2019 dollars
PAYEDU3	payments on third education loan, 2019 dollars
PAYEDU4	payments on fourth education loan, 2019 dollars
PAYEDU5	payments on fifth education loan, 2019 dollars
PAYEDU6	payments on sixth education loan, 2019 dollars
PAYEDU7	payments on seventh education loan, 2019 dollars
PAYHI1	payments on first home improvement loan, 2019 dollars
PAYHI2	payments on second home improvement loan, 2019 dollars
PAYILN1	payments on first installment loan, 2019 dollars
PAYILN2	payments on second installment loan, 2019 dollars
PAYILN3	payments on third installment loan, 2019 dollars
PAYILN4	payments on fourth installment loan, 2019 dollars
PAYILN5	payments on fifth installment loan, 2019 dollars
PAYILN6	payments on sixth installment loan, 2019 dollars
PAYILN7	payments on seventh installment loan, 2019 dollars
PAYINS	payments on loans against insurance policies, 2019 dollars
PAYLC1	payments on first land contract, 2019 dollars
PAYLC2	payments on second land contract, 2019 dollars
PAYLCO	payments on other land contracts, 2019 dollars
PAYLOC1	payments on first line of credit, 2019 dollars
PAYLOC2	payments on second line of credit, 2019 dollars
PAYLOC3	payments on third line of credit, 2019 dollars
PAYLOCO	payments on other lines of credit, 2019 dollars
PAYMARG	payments on margin loans, 2019 dollars
PAYMORT1	payments on first mortgage, 2019 dollars
PAYMORT2	payments on second mortgage, 2019 dollars
PAYMORT3	payments on third mortgage, 2019 dollars
PAYMORTO	payments on other loans, 2019 dollars
PAYORE1	payments on first other residential property, 2019 dollars
PAYORE2	payments on second other residential property, 2019 dollars
PAYORE3	payments on third other residential property, 2019 dollars
PAYOREV	payments on remaining other residential properties, 2019 dollars
PAYPEN1	payments on loan against first pension plan not previously reported, 2019 dollars
PAYPEN2	payments on loan against second pension plan not previously reported, 2019 dollars
PAYPEN3	payments on loan against third pension plan not previously reported, 2019 dollars
PAYPEN4	payments on loan against fourth pension plan not previously reported, 2019 dollars
PAYPEN5	payments on loan against fifth pension plan not previously reported, 2019 dollars
PAYPEN6	payments on loan against sixth pension plan not previously reported, 2019 dollars
PAYVEH1	payments on first vehicle, 2019 dollars
PAYVEH2	payments on second vehicle, 2019 dollars
PAYVEH3	payments on third vehicle, 2019 dollars
PAYVEH4	payments on fourth vehicle, 2019 dollars
PAYVEHM	payments on remaining vehicles, 2019 dollars
PAYVEO1	payment on first other vehicle, 2019 dollars
PAYVEO2	payment on second other vehicle, 2019 dollars
PAYVEOM	payment on remaining other vehicles, 2019 dollars
PENACCTWD	Withdrawals from IRAs and tax-deferred pension accounts, 2019 dollars
PIR40	Household has a PIR higher than 40%
PIRCONS	ratio of monthly non-mortgage non-revolving consumer debt payments to monthly income
PIRMORT	ratio of monthly mortgage payments to monthly income
PIRREV	ratio of monthly revolving debt payments to monthly income
PIRTOTAL	Ratio of monthly debt payments to monthly income
PLOAN1	Total value of aggregate loan balance by loan purpose
PLOAN2	Total value of aggregate loan balance by loan purpose
PLOAN3	Total value of aggregate loan balance by loan purpose
PLOAN4	Total value of aggregate loan balance by loan purpose
PLOAN5	Total value of aggregate loan balance by loan purpose
PLOAN6	Total value of aggregate loan balance by loan purpose
PLOAN7	Total value of aggregate loan balance by loan purpose
PLOAN8	Total value of aggregate loan balance by loan purpose
PREPAID	Amount in prepaid card accounts, 2019 dollars
PURCH1	First lien on primary residence used for purchase of primary residence
PURCH2	Junior lien on primary residence used for purchase of primary residence
RACE	Race/ethnicity of respondent
RACECL	Class of race of respondent
RACECL4	Alternate class of race of respondent
REFIN_EVER	Refinanced first lien mortgage on primary residence
RENT	Monthly rent, 2019 dollars
RESDBT	Total value of debt for other residential property held by households, 2019 dollars
RETEQ	Total value of equity in quasi-liquid retirement assets, 2019 dollars
RETQLIQ	Total value of quasi-liquid held by household, 2019 dollars
REVPAY	total monthly revolving debt payments, 2019 dollars
SAVBND	Total value of savings bonds held by household, 2019 dollars
SAVED	Indicator of whether the household saved over the past 12 months
SAVING	Total value of savings accounts held by household, 2019 dollars
SAVRES1	Reason for saving
SAVRES2	Reason for saving
SAVRES3	Reason for saving
SAVRES4	Reason for saving
SAVRES5	Reason for saving
SAVRES6	Reason for saving
SAVRES7	Reason for saving
SAVRES8	Reason for saving
SAVRES9	Reason for saving
SPENDLESS	R would spend less if assets depreciated in value
SPENDMOR	R would spend more if assets appreciated in value
SSRETINC	Social security and pension income, 2019 dollars
STMUTF	amount in stock mutual funds, 2019 dollars
STOCKS	Total value of directly held stocks held by household, 2019 dollars
SVCCHG	Why no checking account
TFBMUTF	amount in tax-free bond mutual funds, 2019 dollars
THRIFT	Total value of account-type pension plans from R and spouse's current job, 2019 dollars
TPAY	Total value of monthly debt payments, 2019 dollars
TRANSFOTHINC	Unemployment, alimony/child support, TANF/food stamps/SSI, and other income, 2019 dollars
TRUSTS	Amount R would receive if they cashed in trusts, 2019 dollars
TURNDOWN	Household has been turned down for credit in the past 5 years
TURNFEAR	Household has been turned down for credit or feared being denied credit in the past 5 years
VEH_INST	Total value of vehicle loans held by household, 2019 dollars
VEHIC	Total value of all vehicles held by household, 2019 dollars
VLEASE	Total value of leased vehicles held by household, 2019 dollars
WAGEINC	Wage and salary income, 2019 dollars
WGT	Sample weight
WHYNOCKG	Reason household does not have a checking account
WILSH	Wilshire index of stock prices
WSAVED	spent more/same/less than income in past year
X1	Case ID with implicate number
XX1	Case ID
Y1	Case ID with implicate number
YEAR	Survey Year
YESFINRISK	Respondent willing to take financial risk
YY1	Case ID