Full text of Survey and Diary of Consumer Payment Choice : 2012 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice : Data Codebook

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Guide to the 2012 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston: Consumer Payments Research Center
November 15, 2017

Introduction
The Diary of Consumer Payment Choice (DCPC) is a survey of consumer payment habits run in
conjunction with RAND’s American Life Panel. Respondents were randomly assigned a threeday period between September 29, 2012, and November 2, 2012, and asked to track all of their
payments using an online questionnaire. Respondents were also provided paper memory aids to
help keep track of their payments. To the extent possible, attempts were made to ensure that on
any given day a representative sample of US residents was actively taking the diary, and any given
day can be made statistically representative by using the appropriate sample weights provided.
In addition to in-person purchases, respondents were also asked to record their cash holdings,
cash deposits, cash withdrawals, other forms of cash conversion, bill payments, and payments to
other people. The result is a dataset containing 17,402 unique transactions by 2,468 individuals,
including 12,647 expenditures, 2,125 bills, 1,237 instances of cash withdrawal, and several other
types of transactions. All in all, the DCPC allows a researcher an unusually clear window into the
day-to-day spending habits of American consumers.

Structure of the survey instrument
The DCPC asked respondents to track all purchases, bills, and movements of cash over a threeday assigned diary period, which were entered into an online survey every evening. Diarists were
provided with optional memory aids to help keep track of the relevant details. Attempts were made
to ensure that the sample of respondents was not just representative through the whole of October,
but also representative on any given day. In order to reduce unwanted heterogeniety in response
quality across days due to diary fatigue, some diarists were assigned diary peiriods beginning on
September 29th and September 30th, and some diarists were assigned diary periods ending on
November 1st and November 2nd. This was to ensure that every individual day in October has an
approximately equal mix of diarists completing their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd diary day. For any statistical
analysis that attempts to be representative, diary days which occur outside of October should be
dropped. It may also be necessary to weight diarist’s responses by the number of days that they
were assigned in October, so that diarists who were only active for a single day are not given equal
weight as those who were active for three. In order to conserve valuable survey time and prevent
Written and compiled by Jason Premo.
jason.premo@bos.frb.org

the diary from becoming onerous, the diary employs skip patterns to determine whether or not
a respondant is asked a given question. In most cases, this is intuitive; a respondant who does
not report a credit card payment is not asked about the logo on his or her credit card. In other
cases, however, it can be potentially misleading. For instance, a respondant is only asked if they
had cash stolen if he or she reported end of day cash balance fails to match their reported cash
transactions (within a margin of error). Thus, in some cases it may be necessary for the researcher
to trace variables back to their original diary questions in order to obtain a full understanding of
the universe of respondants for a given question.

Structure and use of the data
The DCPC data contains 19,113 unique observations, the majority of which represent a single
transaction by a single respondent on a single day. Any observation can be uniquely identified by
the person, the day, and a constructed variable which orders the transactions within a given day. In
the data, these variables are prim key, date, and tran.
Any given transaction will have non-missing values for the variable type, which identifies what
sort of transaction the observation represents – e.g., an expenditure, a bill, or a cash withdrawal.
Each individual-day also contains a placeholder observation with a type set equal to 0 – this is
to allow data users to filter out observations using the type variable without fear of also filtering
out individuals, unless they choose to do so. The variable amnt records the dollar value of each
transaction.1 While all values of the amount variable are positive, not every transaction necessarily
records an expenditure. In many cases, a transaction represents the conversion of assets from one
form to another. Thus, the researcher must always be careful to note what values of type are being
considered when, say, summing over transaction amounts.
Each transaction also includes, when applicable, a payment instrument (variable pi) – e.g., cash,
credit, check – a merchant category – e.g., financial services, restaurants, transportation – and the
device with which the payment was made – e.g., a mobile phone – as well as several other variables
related to the payment. With the data so organized, it is a very simple matter to estimate, say, the
average value of a cash transaction at a restaurant, or the average number of credit payments in a
given month.d
Note that the DCPC can be easily merged with the 2012 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice
(SCPC) using the individual identifier prim key. Unfortunately, not every individual who participated in the 2012 DCPC also participated in the 2012 SCPC. Specifically, about 5 percent of DCPC
respondents did not complete an SCPC. In future iterations of the DCPC completing the SCPC is
mandatory.

Structure of this document
This code book is arranged both alphabetically and by level of response; variables that apply
to a given transactionl are listed first, followed by variables which apply to a given diary day,
followed by variables which apply to a given individual. Though variables are generally listed
1 Note that a missing amnt does not necessarily imply no transaction.

2

See amnt and amnt orig for more information.

alphabetically, within each subcategory the unique identifier for that subcategory is listed first –
thus, prim key (mentioned above) is the first variable listed among the individual level variables.
A table of contents is provided on the next page.
For each variable, a description is provided that states what it is meant to represent, as well
as the original wording of the survey question when applicable. Additional histograms (topcoded at the 99th percentile) and unweighted transaction-level summary statistics are provided
for continuous-valued variables, while simple tabulations and codings are provided for categorical
variables. The exact connection between the public use dataset and the survey questionnaire can
be gleaned from the ”How Constructed” section within each variable description.

Weighting
To allow for estimations that are representative of the United States, two sets of sample weights
are provided. The first set of weights, ind weight, are individual-level post-stratification weights.
The second set of weights, daily weight, are day-level weights. For most purposes, the individual
weights will be appropriate. However, if one is trying to build an estimate for a single day across
individuals, then the daily weights are most appropriate. Both sets of weights are relative – they
have a mean of 1 and sum to the number of observations in the dataset.
For more information about how the weights are constructed, see the DCPC technical appendix.

3

Contents
Transaction-level Variables
tran . . . . . . . . . . .
ab type . . . . . . . . .
amnt . . . . . . . . . . .
amnt orig . . . . . . . .
bill . . . . . . . . . . . .
cash2coin loc . . . . . .
cd location . . . . . . .
coin2cash loc . . . . . .
coin2cash reimburse . .
coin type . . . . . . . .
cw location . . . . . . .
cw source . . . . . . . .
device . . . . . . . . . .
discount . . . . . . . . .
fee . . . . . . . . . . . .
how reimbursed . . . . .
in person . . . . . . . .
logo . . . . . . . . . . .
merch . . . . . . . . . .
merch broad . . . . . . .
pi . . . . . . . . . . . .
pin . . . . . . . . . . . .
prepaid loc . . . . . . .
regularity . . . . . . . .
time . . . . . . . . . . .
type . . . . . . . . . . .

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6
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33

Day-level Variables
date . . . . . . .
carry cc . . . . .
carry chk . . . .
carry csh . . . . .
carry dc . . . . .
carry mobile . . .
carry mon . . . .
carry other . . . .
carry svc . . . . .
carry tc . . . . .
daily weight . . .
denom 100 end .

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34
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4

denom 100 start . . .
denom 10 end . . . .
denom 10 start . . .
denom 1 end . . . .
denom 1 start . . . .
denom 20 end . . . .
denom 20 start . . .
denom 2 end . . . .
denom 2 start . . . .
denom 50 end . . . .
denom 50 start . . .
denom 5 end . . . .
denom 5 start . . . .
diary day . . . . . .
end csh bal . . . . .
end csh bal reported
nopayments . . . . .
start csh bal . . . . .
traveled . . . . . . .
used mwa . . . . . .
work payments . . .

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Individual-level Variables
prim key . . . . . . . .
age . . . . . . . . . . .
census division . . . .
citizen . . . . . . . . .
employment status . .
ethnicity . . . . . . . .
has scpc . . . . . . . .
highest education . . .
hispanic . . . . . . . .
home value . . . . . .
impact . . . . . . . . .
income hh . . . . . . .
income howpaid . . . .
income rank . . . . . .
income source . . . . .
ind weight . . . . . . .
interest level . . . . . .
last income date . . . .
male . . . . . . . . . .
marital status . . . . .

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47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67

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67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88

memory checkbook
memory finrec . . .
memory lpd . . . .
memory noaid . . .
memory other . . .
memory receipts .
mortgage debt . . .
next income date .
non home assets .
nonmort debt . . .
own home . . . . .
paypref 1 . . . . .
paypref 1 why . . .
paypref 2 . . . . .
paypref 2 why . . .
scpc date num . . .
state reside . . . .
why no csh . . . .
work industry . . .

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89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
107
108

Transaction-level Variables

tran
Description
Within-day transaction number.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
Observations are sorted by individual identifier,
date, and time, and then numbered sequentially.
Transactions without times fall at the end of the
sequence, in no particular order.
0

2

N
min
24806
0

7

4

med
1

6

mean
max
1.94477 23

8

sd
2.14054

10

Transaction-level Variables

ab type
Description
Type of automatic bill payment.

ab type
1
2
3
Total

Survey Question
No specific question. Values are reported in a
drop-down box in the questionnaire automatic
bill module.
How Constructed
As reported from the Automatic Bills section
of the survey.
Coding
1
2
3

Automatic bill payment
Subscription
Other regularly scheduled automatic payment

8

No.
547
31
191
769

%
71
4
25
100

Transaction-level Variables

amnt
Description
Dollar amount of the transaction.
Survey Question
No specific question. Values are reported in a
text box in any of the various modules that allow one to report a transaction amount, as well
as questions q105a-d. See type for more information.
How Constructed
In many sections of the questionnaire, respon0
200
400
600
800
1000
dents are prompted enter the dollar amount of a
N
min med
mean
max
sd
transaction. These amounts are generally given
as reported. For some unrealistically high-valued 17363
0
20 75.3288 70000 599.479
responses, the CPRC staff followed up with the
respondent. The high dollar amounts which
could be confirmed were left as is, and those
which were confirmed mistakes were corrected.
The rest of the unrealistically high values were
set to missing. See amnt orig for uncleaned
values.

9

Transaction-level Variables

amnt orig
Description
Dollar amount of the transaction (uncleaned).
Survey Question
Text box in any of the various modules that allow one to report a transaction amount.
How Constructed
These are the raw amounts as reported by respondent. While they have undergone the manual confirmation process described in the variable amnt, they have not been otherwise altered.
It is recommended that amnt is used for most
analyses.

0

200

N
min
16972
0

10

400

med
20

600

mean
86.2118

800

max
70000

1000

sd
707.068

Transaction-level Variables

bill
Description
Whether or not the payment was for a bill.

bill
0
1
Total

Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
Payments reported in the bills or automatic bills
modules are classified as bills for this purpose.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

11

No.
12,647
2,125
14,772

%
86
14
100

Transaction-level Variables

cash2coin loc
Description
Location of the cash to coin conversion.
Survey Question
No specific question. Values are reported in
a drop-down box in the questionnaire ”cash2coin”
module.
How Constructed
As reported in the Cash to Coin section of the
survey.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6

Change machine or kiosk
Bank teller
Store clerk
Family or friend
Post office
Other

12

cash2coin loc No.
1
27
2
11
3
362
4
9
5
9
6
111
Total
529

%
5
2
68
2
2
21
100

Transaction-level Variables

cd location
Description
Cash deposit location.

cd location No.
1
60
2
100
3
27
Total
187

Survey Question
No specific question. Values are reported in a
drop-down box in the questionnaire cash deposit module.
How Constructed
As reported in the Cash Deposit section of the
survey.
Coding
1
2
3

ATM
Bank teller
Other

13

%
32
53
14
100

Transaction-level Variables

coin2cash loc
Description
Location of the coin to cash conversion.
Survey Question
No specific question. Values are reported in
a drop-down box in the questionnaire ”coin2cash”
module.
How Constructed
As reported in the Coin to Cash section of the
survey.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5

Coin machine or kiosk
Bank teller
Store
Family or friend
Other

14

coin2cash loc
1
2
3
4
5
Total

No.
7
3
27
7
14
58

%
12
5
47
12
24
100

Transaction-level Variables

coin2cash reimburse
Description
How the respondent was reimbursed for his or
her coin to cash conversion, if the respondent
was reimbursed with something other than cash.

coin2cash reimburse
0
4
5
Total

Survey Question
No specific question. Values are reported in
a drop-down box in the questionnaire ”coin2cash”
module.
How Constructed
As reported in the Coin to Cash section of the
survey. Note that ”No” was recoded to 0 and
the other options adjusted accordingly.
Coding
0
1
2
3
4
5

No
Prepaid/gift card
Deposit to bank account
Points or value to use on a website
Store credit
Other

15

No.
51
1
10
62

%
82
2
16
100

Transaction-level Variables

coin type
Description
Main type of coin received from cash to coin
conversion.
Survey Question
No specific question. Values are reported in
a drop-down box in the questionnaire ”cash2coin”
module.
How Constructed
As reported in the Cash to Coin section of the
survey.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5

Dollar coins
Quarters
Dimes
Nickels
Pennies

16

coin type
1
2
3
4
5
Total

No.
24
369
81
20
49
543

%
4
68
15
4
9
100

Transaction-level Variables

cw location
Description
Cash withdrawal location.

cw location
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Total

Survey Question
No specific question. Values are reported in a
drop-down box in the questionnaire cash withdrawal module.
How Constructed
As reported in the Cash Withdrawal section of
the survey.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

ATM
Cash back at a retail store
Bank teller
Family or friend
Check cashing store
Employer
Cash refund from returning goods
Other location

17

No.
328
137
147
346
21
119
26
103
1,227

%
27
11
12
28
2
10
2
8
100

Transaction-level Variables

cw source
Description
Cash withdrawal source.

cw source No.
1
456
2
48
3
120
4
96
5
13
6
18
7
329
8
119
Total
1,199

Survey Question
No specific question. Values are reported in a
drop-down box in the questionnaire cash withdrawal module.
How Constructed
As reported in the Cash Withdrawal section of
the survey.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Checking account
Savings or other bank account
Salary/wages/tips
Cashing a check
Credit card cash advance
Prepaid card cash withdrawal
Another person
Other source

18

%
38
4
10
8
1
2
27
10
100

Transaction-level Variables

device
Description
Device used while making the payment.

device
1
2
3
4
5
6
Total

Survey Question
No specific question. Values are reported in a
drop-down box in any of the various modules
that allow one to report a transaction device.
How Constructed
This variable is constructed by combining the
”device” question in the Purchases section, and
the ”location” question in the Bills section of
the questionnaire. The responses to these two
questions do not align perfectly, so some assumptions are made. Specifically, if a respondent reports an ”Online bill payment (not automatic)”, then this variable is set to ”computer”.
If a respondent reports a location of ”Telephone
(voice)”, then this variable is set to ”Mobile
phone”. In future versions of the survey, the
questionnaire was modified to avoid this mismatch.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6

Computer
Tablet
Mobile phone
Landline phone
Mail or delivery service
No device/None of the above

19

No.
1,115
47
162
40
518
11,483
13,365

%
8
0
1
0
4
86
100

Transaction-level Variables

discount
Description
Whether or not the respondent received a discount for using a the payment instrument he
or she used. Only asked for cash, debit, and
credit.

discount
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Did you receive a discount from the merchant
specifically for using [instrument]?
How Constructed
Quetsions q101a (cash), q101d (debit card) and
q101f (credit card) are combined to create a
general discount variable for all payment instruments.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

20

No.
11,310
280
11,590

%
98
2
100

Transaction-level Variables

fee
Description
Whether or not the respondent was charged a
fee for using the payment instrument he or she
used.

fee
0
1
Total

Survey Question
For credit cards: ”Did you pay an extra charge,
surcharge, or convenience fee to the merchant
specifically for using this [instrument]?” Otherwise, values are reported in a drop-down box
in the cash withdrawal, prepaid load, and coin2cash
modules.
How Constructed
Questions q101g (”Did you pay an extra charge,
surcharge, or convenience fee to the merchant
specifically for using this credit card?”), Cash
withdrawal section (”Were you charged a fee?”),
Coin to cash section (”Did you pay a fee?”),
Cash to coin section (”Did you pay a fee?”),
Prepaid loading section (”Did you pay a fee?”),
are all combined to create a general variable describing fees paid for transactions.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

21

No.
4,227
132
4,359

%
97
3
100

Transaction-level Variables

how reimbursed
Description
How the respondent was reimbursed for returned
goods.
Survey Question
No specific questions. Values are reported in a
drop-down box in the returned goods module.
How Constructed
As reported in the Returned Goods section of
the survey. Note that the data shows that response option 4 was never selected by any respondents.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Cash
Refund to debit card
Refund to credit card
Merchant wrote you a check
Store credit
Gift card
Other

22

how reimbursed No.
1
29
2
20
3
49
5
18
6
2
7
2
Total
120

%
24
17
41
15
2
2
100

Transaction-level Variables

in person
Description
Whether or not a purchase was completed inperson.

in person
0
1
Total

Survey Question
No specific questions. Values are reported in a
drop-down box in the purchases and bills modules.
How Constructed
This variable is a combination of the location
questions in both the Purchases and Bill sections of the questionnaire. Specifically, the ”in
person” question in the Purchases section is combined with location response 3 (”in person”) in
the Bills section.
Coding
0
1

Not in person
In person

23

No.
2,718
12,048
14,766

%
18
82
100

Transaction-level Variables

logo
Description
The logo on the debit, credit, or prepaid card
used for this transaction.

logo
0
1
2
3
4
5
Total

Survey Question
For debit: Did your debit card have a Visa or
MasterCard logo on it?
For credit: Which type of credit card?
For prepaid: Did the prepaid card have a logo
from the following?
How Constructed
This variable is constructed by combining questions q101e (”Which type of credit card?”), q101b
(”Did your debit card have a Visa or MC logo
on it?”), and q101h (”Did the prepaid card have
a logo from the following?”) in the Purchases
section.
Coding
0
1
2
3
4
5

None
Visa
Mastercard
Discover
American Express
Other

24

No.
175
4,008
1,147
264
394
224
6,212

%
3
65
18
4
6
4
100

Transaction-level Variables

merch
Description
Type of merchant from whom the good or service was purchased in 45 merchant categories.
Survey Question
No specific questions. Values are reported in a
drop-down box in the purchases and bills modules.
How Constructed
As reported in the the Purchases and Bills sections of the questionnaire.
Note: The tabulation for this variable is suppressed for space considerations.

25

Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45

Fast food, food service, food trucks, snack bars
Grocery, pharmacy, liquor stores, convenience stores (without gas stations)
Restaurants, bars
Auto maintenance and repair
Auto rental and leasing
Auto vehicle and parts dealers
Gas stations
Parking lots and garages
Tolls
Clothing and accessories stores
Department and discount stores and websites, wholesale clubs and websites
Online shopping (Amazon.com, etc.)
Other stores (book, florist, hobby, music, office supply, pet, sporting goods)
Vending machines
Entertainment, recreation, arts, museums
Hotels, motels, RV parks, camps
Movie theaters
Phone/internet (wired/wireless/satellite), online and print news, online games
Transportation (includes public transportation)
Building contractors (electrical/plumbing/HVAC, tile, painting, etc.)
Building services
Electric, natural gas, water and sewage
Furniture & home goods stores, appliance & electronics stores, hardware & garden stores
Heating oil dealers, propane dealers
Rent, real estate agents and brokers
Mortgage
Trash collection
Child care, elder care, youth and family services, emergency and other relief services
Doctors, dentists, other health professionals
Education
Hospitals, residential care
Personal care, dry cleaning, pet grooming and sitting, photo processing, death care
Veterinarians
Employment services, travel agents, security services, office administrative services
Financial services, insurance
Legal, accounting, architectural, and other professional services
Mail, delivery, storage
Rental centers
Repair/maintenance of electronics and personal and household goods
Charitable, religious, professional, civic (not government) organizations
Taxes, fees, fines and other payments to governments
Friends and family
People who provide goods and services
Other people
I don’t know/missing

26

Transaction-level Variables

merch broad
Description
Type of merchant from whom the good or service was purchased in 10 broader categories.

merch broad
No.
1
6,993
2
1,699
3
1,955
4
937
5
917
6
642
7
484
8
296
9
480
10
369
Total
14,772

Survey Question
NA
How Constructed
As reported in the the Purchases and Bills sections of the questionnaire. The conversion from
the narrower categories is as follows:
1 = (1-3)
2 = (4-9)
3 = (10 - 14)
4 = (15-19)
5 = (20-27)
6 = (28-33)
7 = (34-39)
8=(40-41)
9=(42-44)
10=(45)
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Food and Personal Care Supplies
Auto and Vehicle Related
General Merchandise
Entertainment and Transportation
Housing Related
Medical, Education, Personal Services
Financial, Professional, Miscellaneous Services
Government and Nonprofit
Gifts and Transfers to People
I dont know/missing

27

%
47
12
13
6
6
4
3
2
3
2
100

Transaction-level Variables

pi
Description
The payment instrument used for payment.
Survey Question
No specific questions. Values are reported in a
drop-down box in the purchases, bills, prepaid
cards, and returned goods modules.
How Constructed
As reported in the the Purchases and Bills sections of the questionnaire. Note that while ”Traveler’s Check” was provided as an option, there
were no payments made with traveler’s checks.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Cash
Check
Credit card
Debit card (PIN)
Debit card (no PIN)
Prepaid/Gift/EBT card
BANP
OBBP
Money order
Traveler’s Check
Text message payment
Other

28

pi
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
11
12
13
Total

No.
5,796
968
2,664
1,825
1,784
293
527
678
45
4
218
4
14,806

%
39
7
18
12
12
2
4
5
0
0
1
0
100

Transaction-level Variables

pin
Description
Whether or not the respondent entered a PIN
when using his or her debit card.

pin
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Did you enter a PIN?
How Constructed
As reported in a question q101c (Did you enter a PIN?) from the Purchases section of the
questionnaire. Asked for Debit Card payments
only. Note that there are some discrepencies
between this variable and the reported payment
instrument, which also allows the respondent to
specify whether he or she used a PIN. The data
is released as is.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

29

No.
1,680
1,693
3,373

%
50
50
100

Transaction-level Variables

prepaid loc
Description
Location of prepaid card loading.

prepaid loc
1
2
3
5
6
7
8
Total

Survey Question
No specific questions. Values are reported in a
drop-down box in the prepaid cards module.
How Constructed
As reported in the the Prepaid Card Loading
section of the questionnaire.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Retail location
Online
Mobile phone
ATM
Card machine or kiosk
Bank teller
Check casher
Other

30

No.
18
4
5
2
1
1
12
43

%
42
9
12
5
2
2
28
100

Transaction-level Variables

regularity
Description
The frequency of the bill.

regularity
1
2
3
Total

Survey Question
No specific questions. Values are reported in a
drop-down box in the bills section.
How Constructed
As reported in the Bills section of the questionnaire. Note that this question is only asked for
non-automatic bills, as automatic bills can be
assumed to be regularly recurring. See ab type
for a similar variable that applies to only automatic bills.
Coding
1
2
3

Regularly recurring
Irregularly recurring
One-time bill

31

No.
900
173
269
1,342

%
67
13
20
100

Transaction-level Variables

time
Description
Time of the transaction (24 hour clock).
Survey Question
Clock widget in the Purchases, Bills, Cash Withdrawals, Cash Deposits, Coin-to-Cash, Cashto-Coin, Prepaid Loads, and Returned Goods
modules.
How Constructed
Converted to 24-hour clock notation, but otherwise as reported.

32

Transaction-level Variables

type
Description
Type of transaction.

type
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Total

Survey Question
Usually NA – see below.
Q105. Did any of the following things happen
to you on [DATE]?
–I removed some cash from my pocket, wallet
or purse and added it to cash stored elsewhere
on my property.
–I took cash stored elsehwere on my property
and added it ot my pocket, wallet or purse.
–I had some cash lost or stolen.
–I found or unexpectedly received some cash.
How Constructed
For the most part, this variable is defined based
on which section of the questionnaire the respondent reported the transaction – e.g., purchases, bills, returned goods, etc. The exceptions are codes 9, 10, 11, and 12, which refer
to survey questions (q105a-d). These questions
were only asked if the respondent’s reported
end-of-day cash holdings did not match his or
her reported cash use, within a margin of error. This margin of error is defined as the absolute value of the number of transactions in that
day. In addition, each respondent-day contains
a placeholder observation with type = 0. This
allows the data user to filter out observations
according to the other values of type without
fear of dropping individuals from the dataset.

33

No.
7,404
14,772
43
120
1,237
191
64
556
127
183
93
10
6
24,806

%
30
60
0
0
5
1
0
2
1
1
0
0
0
100

Coding
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Placeholder
Expenditure
Prepaid Load
Returned Goods
Cash: Withdrawal
Cash: Deposit
Cash: Converted from Coins
Cash: Converted to Coins
Cash: Storage to Pocket
Cash: Pocket to Storage
Cash: Unexpectedly Received
Cash: Lost/Stolen
Cash: Exchanged to Foreign Currency

34

Day-level Variables

date
Description
The date of the diary day. Each diarist participated in the diary for three consecutive days,
with efforts made to ensure a representative sample of Americans on any given day. The dates
range from September 29, 2012 to November
2, 2012. In order to ensure the representativeness of the sample and to eliminate any biases
from diary fatigue, it is recommended that only
dates in October be considered.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
Implied by the diary day.

35

Day-level Variables

carry cc
Description
Carried credit cards on that diary day.

carry cc
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Please tell us what [PAYMENT METHODS]
you carried on [DATE]. (Checkboxes for each
option)
How Constructed
As reported.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

36

No.
4,523
2,881
7,404

%
61
39
100

Day-level Variables

carry chk
Description
Carried checks on that diary day.

carry chk No.
0
5,959
1
1,445
Total
7,404

Survey Question
Please tell us what [PAYMENT METHODS]
you carried on [DATE]. (Checkboxes for each
option)
How Constructed
As reported.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

37

%
80
20
100

Day-level Variables

carry csh
Description
Carried cash on that diary day.

carry csh
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Please tell us what [PAYMENT METHODS]
you carried on [DATE]. (Checkboxes for each
option)
How Constructed
As reported.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

38

No.
3,022
4,382
7,404

%
41
59
100

Day-level Variables

carry dc
Description
Carried debit cards on that diary day.

carry dc No.
0
4,083
1
3,321
Total
7,404

Survey Question
Please tell us what [PAYMENT METHODS]
you carried on [DATE]. (Checkboxes for each
option)
How Constructed
As reported.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

39

%
55
45
100

Day-level Variables

carry mobile
Description
Carried mobile device capable of making text
message payments on that diary day.

carry mobile
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Please tell us what [PAYMENT METHODS]
you carried on [DATE]. (Checkboxes for each
option)
How Constructed
As reported.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

40

No.
7,387
17
7,404

%
100
0
100

Day-level Variables

carry mon
Description
Carried money orders on that diary day.

carry mon No.
0
7,383
1
21
Total
7,404

Survey Question
Please tell us what [PAYMENT METHODS]
you carried on [DATE]. (Checkboxes for each
option)
How Constructed
As reported.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

41

%
100
0
100

Day-level Variables

carry other
Description
Carried other [PAYMENT METHODS] on that
diary day.

carry other No.
0
7,251
1
153
Total
7,404

Survey Question
Please tell us what [PAYMENT METHODS]
you carried on [DATE]. (Checkboxes for each
option)
How Constructed
As reported.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

42

%
98
2
100

Day-level Variables

carry svc
Description
Carried prepaid cards on that diary day.

carry svc
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Please tell us what [PAYMENT METHODS]
you carried on [DATE]. (Checkboxes for each
option)
How Constructed
As reported.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

43

No.
6,629
775
7,404

%
90
10
100

Day-level Variables

carry tc
Description
Carried travelers checks on that diary day.

carry tc No.
%
0
7,404 100
Total
7,404 100

Survey Question
Please tell us what [PAYMENT METHODS]
you carried on [DATE]. (Checkboxes for each
option)
How Constructed
As reported.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

44

Day-level Variables

daily weight
Description
Daily weight. These weights have a mean of 1
and sum to the number of observations. Daily
weights are best used when attempting to compare a single day across individuals.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
See the DCPC technical appendix for a more
in-depth treatment of the weights and how they
are constructed.

0

N
6973

45

1

min
0.138497

2

3

med
mean
0.731768
1

4

max
10.7144

sd
0.841486

Day-level Variables

denom 100 end
Description
End-of-day count of 100 dollar bills.
Survey Question
Text field in the Count Your Cash section of the
questionnaire.
How Constructed
As reported.

0

N
min
7404
0

46

1

med
0

2

mean
max
0.115748 100

3

sd
1.34277

Day-level Variables

denom 100 start
Description
Start-of-day count of 100 dollar bills.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
Respondents are asked to report their cash holdings before the start of the first diary day, and so
this reported amount is reflected in diary day 1.
For all other diary days, the start-of-day cash
holdings are set equal to the end-of-day cash
holdings from the previous diary day.

0

N
min
7403
0

47

1

med
0

2

mean
max
0.128597 100

3

sd
1.36648

Day-level Variables

denom 10 end
Description
End-of-day count of 10 dollar bills.
Survey Question
Text field in the Count Your Cash section of the
questionnaire.
How Constructed
As reported.

0

1

N
min
7404
0

48

2

med
0

3

mean
max
0.516613 18

4

sd
1.05277

5

Day-level Variables

denom 10 start
Description
Start-of-day count of 10 dollar bills.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
Respondents are asked to report their cash holdings before the start of the first diary day, and so
this reported amount is reflected in diary day 1.
For all other diary days, the start-of-day cash
holdings are set equal to the end-of-day cash
holdings from the previous diary day.

0

1

N
min
7403
0

49

2

med
0

3

mean
max
0.558557 30

4

sd
1.14117

5

Day-level Variables

denom 1 end
Description
End-of-day count of 1 dollar bills.
Survey Question
Text field in the Count Your Cash section of the
questionnaire.
How Constructed
As reported.

0

N
7404

50

5

min
0

10

med
mean
2
2.91545

15

max
sd
97 3.77968

20

Day-level Variables

denom 1 start
Description
Start-of-day count of 1 dollar bills.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
Respondents are asked to report their cash holdings before the start of the first diary day, and so
this reported amount is reflected in diary day 1.
For all other diary days, the start-of-day cash
holdings are set equal to the end-of-day cash
holdings from the previous diary day.

0

N
7403

51

5

min
0

10

med
mean
2
3.09456

15

max
sd
38 3.74948

20

Day-level Variables

denom 20 end
Description
End-of-day count of 20 dollar bills.
Survey Question
Text field in the Count Your Cash section of the
questionnaire.
How Constructed
As reported.

0

N
7404

52

5

min
0

med
mean
0
1.61075

10

max
sd
89 3.11225

15

Day-level Variables

denom 20 start
Description
Start-of-day count of 20 dollar bills.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
Respondents are asked to report their cash holdings before the start of the first diary day, and so
this reported amount is reflected in diary day 1.
For all other diary days, the start-of-day cash
holdings are set equal to the end-of-day cash
holdings from the previous diary day.

0

N
7403

53

5

min
0

med
mean
1
1.72673

10

max
sd
40 3.00864

15

Day-level Variables

denom 2 end
Description
End-of-day count of 2 dollar bills.
Survey Question
Text field in the Count Your Cash section of the
questionnaire.
How Constructed
As reported.

0

.2

N
min
7404
0

54

.4

med
0

.6

mean
max
0.0279579
8

.8

1

sd
0.283075

Day-level Variables

denom 2 start
Description
Start-of-day count of 2 dollar bills.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
Respondents are asked to report their cash holdings before the start of the first diary day, and so
this reported amount is reflected in diary day 1.
For all other diary days, the start-of-day cash
holdings are set equal to the end-of-day cash
holdings from the previous diary day.

0

.2

N
min
7403
0

55

.4

med
0

.6

mean
max
0.0348507 30

.8

1

sd
0.476269

Day-level Variables

denom 50 end
Description
End-of-day count of 50 dollar bills.
Survey Question
Text field in the Count Your Cash section of the
questionnaire.
How Constructed
As reported.

0

N
min
7404
0

56

.5

med
0

1

1.5

mean
max
0.0791464 12

2

sd
0.416079

Day-level Variables

denom 50 start
Description
Start-of-day count of 50 dollar bills.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
Respondents are asked to report their cash holdings before the start of the first diary day, and so
this reported amount is reflected in diary day 1.
For all other diary days, the start-of-day cash
holdings are set equal to the end-of-day cash
holdings from the previous diary day.

0

N
min
7403
0

57

.5

med
0

1

1.5

mean
max
0.085641 12

2

sd
0.439489

Day-level Variables

denom 5 end
Description
End-of-day count of 5 dollar bills.
Survey Question
Text field in the Count Your Cash section of the
questionnaire.
How Constructed
As reported.

0

N
7404

58

2

min
0

med
mean
0
0.82658

4

max
sd
26 1.40277

6

Day-level Variables

denom 5 start
Description
Start-of-day count of 5 dollar bills.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
Respondents are asked to report their cash holdings before the start of the first diary day, and so
this reported amount is reflected in diary day 1.
For all other diary days, the start-of-day cash
holdings are set equal to the end-of-day cash
holdings from the previous diary day.

0

N
min
7403
0

59

2

med
0

4

mean
max
0.889369 24

6

sd
1.465

Day-level Variables

diary day
Description
Diary day.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
The day of the assigned diary period (i.e., 1, 2,
or 3).

60

Day-level Variables

end csh bal
Description
Cash balance at the end of the diary day.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
In most cases, calculated by appropriately summing up the reported denominations. Some cleaning is applied to this variable.
See end csh bal reported for more details.
0

100

N
min
7404
0

61

200

med
25

300

mean
60.0176

400

max
10060

500

sd
157.525

Day-level Variables

end csh bal reported
Description
Cash balance at the end of the diary day (reported).
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
During the ”Count Your Paper Cash” section
of the questionnaire, respondents are given the
opportunity to input their holdings of specific
denominations. The online questionnaire will
0
100
200
300
400
500
then automatically convert these holdings into
N
min med
mean
max
sd
a dollar amount in a text field at the bottom of
the screen. Respondents were capable of man- 7398
0
24 57.6139 2106 105.995
ually editing this total without altering the reported denomination holdings, potentially resulting in a mismatch between the reported denominations and the reported total. This variable represents the holdings as they are reported
in a the text field, as opposed to those implied
by the reported denominations.
Out of 9,864 responses, these variables fail to
match in only 146 cases. Out of these 146 mismatches, 96 did not report holding any denomination but did report a specific cash value. In
these cases, end csh bal is set equal to end csh bal reported.
Otherwise, the discrepancies are left to the interpretation of the user.

62

Day-level Variables

nopayments
Description
Why the respondent chose not to make any payments on the given diary day.

nopayments
1
2
3
4
Total

Survey Question
Please tell us the reason that best describes why
you didnt make any purchases on [DATE].
How Constructed
As reported in a question q98a of the Purchases
section of the questionnaire. This question is
only asked if the respondent reported no payments. Days with no payments can be identified with a type = 0.
Coding
1
2
3
4

I didn’t need to make any purchases today
I was too busy to make purchases today
I’m trying to spend less
Other

63

No.
1,408
181
159
364
2,112

%
67
9
8
17
100

Day-level Variables

start csh bal
Description
Cash balance at the start of the diary day.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
Respondents are asked to report their cash holdings before the start of the first diary day, and so
this reported amount is reflected in diary day 1.
For all other diary days, the start-of-day cash
holdings are set equal to the end-of-day cash
holdings from the previous diary day.

0

100

N
min
7403
0

64

200

med
30

300

mean
64.873

400

max
10060

500

sd
159.557

Day-level Variables

traveled
Description
Whether or not the respondent traveled on a
given diary day.

traveled
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Did you travel in the U.S. for business, vacation, or any other reason on any of the three
days in which you participated in the diary?
[If YES] On which days were you traveling?
Check all that apply.
How Constructed
This variable is constructed based on questions
q13 and q13a of the questionnaire. Note that
this question is only asked on the final day.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

65

No.
7,243
161
7,404

%
98
2
100

Day-level Variables

used mwa
Description
Whether or not the respondent used a monthly,
weekly, or annual transportation pass on this
diary day.

used mwa
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Some forms of public transportation that might
otherwise require payment at the time of purchase can be paid for ahead of time using a
weekly, monthly, or annual pass. Did you use
a weekly, monthly, or annual pass to do any of
the following things on [DATE]? (Ride the subway. Ride a train. Ride the bus. Ride a ferry.
Ride in a carpool or vanpool.)
How Constructed
As reported in a question q11 of the questionnaire.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

66

No.
6,856
548
7,404

%
93
7
100

Day-level Variables

work payments
Description
Whether or not any payments made on this diary day were for work-related reasons.

work payments No.
0
1,287
1
137
Total
1,424

Survey Question
Were any of the payments or cash activity you
made during your diary period for work related
purposes?
How Constructed
As reported in a question q16 of the questionnaire. Note that respondents are only asked this
question if they report that they are employed.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

67

%
90
10
100

Individual-level Variables

prim key
Description
The unique identifier for each diary respondent.
prim keys are of the form YYMMXXXX:n, where
YY codes the year, MM codes the month, XXXX
is a household identifier, and n is the panel member within this household. The prim key serves
as the unique identifier in the SCPC, allowing
the DCPC to be merged with the SCPC.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
As reported by the survey vendor, without modification. Note that one can identify members
of the same household by observing the number after the colon. For example, the prim keys
12345678:1 and 12345678:2 indicate that the
two individuals they represent are the first and
second members, respectively, of the same household.

68

Individual-level Variables

age
Description
Respondent age.
Survey Question
What is your birth date?
How Constructed
In years, as implied from the respondents reported date of birth in RAND’s My Household
Questionnaire q02.
20

N
2468

69

40

min
16

med
mean
49 47.8156

60

max
sd
94 15.6776

80

Individual-level Variables

census division
Description
Census division in which respondent resides.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
Demographic information constructed from RAND
My Household Questionnaire, question q03.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

New England
Middle Atlantic
South Atlantic
East South Central
West South Central
East North Central
West North Central
Mountain
Pacific

70

census division
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Total

No.
95
345
366
96
380
360
128
270
428
2,468

%
4
14
15
4
15
15
5
11
17
100

Individual-level Variables

citizen
Description
Whether or not the respondent is a citizen of
the United States.

citizen
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Are you a citizen of the United States?
How Constructed
Demographic information from the RAND My
Household Questionnaire question q06.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

71

No.
51
2,417
2,468

%
2
98
100

Individual-level Variables

employment status
Description
Current employment status.

employment status
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Total

Survey Question
q14: What is your current employment situation?
q15: Do you work for someone else, are you
self-employed or what?
How Constructed
Constructed by combining the responses of q14
and q15 of the questionnaire.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Employed by others
Self-employed
Unemployed
Temporarily laid off, on sick or other leave
Disabled
Retired
Homemaker/caregiver
Student
Other

72

No.
1,297
127
172
25
159
400
142
57
86
2,465

%
53
5
7
1
6
16
6
2
3
100

Individual-level Variables

ethnicity
Description
Respondent’s ethnicity.

ethnicity
1
2
3
4
5
Total

Survey Question
Do you consider yourself primarily white or
Caucasian, Black or African American, American Indian, or Asian?
How Constructed
Demographic information from the RAND My
Household Questionnaire question q11.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5

White
Black
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Asian or Pacific Islander
Other

73

No.
1,932
275
24
56
178
2,465

%
78
11
1
2
7
100

Individual-level Variables

has scpc
Description
Whether or not the respondent completed the
SCPC.

has scpc
0
1
Total

Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
If an individual with a matching prim key exists
in the 2012 SCPC, then this variable is set to 1.
Otherwise, it is set to 0.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

74

No.
120
2,348
2,468

%
5
95
100

Individual-level Variables

highest education
Description
The respondent’s highest level of education.

highest education
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Total

Survey Question
What is the highest level of school you have
completed or the highest degree you have received?
How Constructed
Demographic information from the RAND My
Household Questionnaire question q08. Note
that the data shows that no respondent selected
”Less than 1st grade” as a response.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

Up to 1st grade
1st-4th grade
5th-6th grade
7th-8th grade
9th grade
10th grade
11th grade
12th grade, no diploma
High school or equivalent
Some college
Associate degree, vocational
Associate degree, academic
Bachelor’s degree
Master’s degree
Professional School Degree
Doctorate degree

75

No.
2
6
8
11
14
24
30
389
642
148
159
612
331
43
49
2,468

%
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
16
26
6
6
25
13
2
2
100

Individual-level Variables

hispanic
Description
Whether or not the respondent identifies as Hispanic/Latino.

hispanic
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Do you consider yourself Hispanic or Latino?
How Constructed
Demographic information from the RAND My
Household Questionnaire question q09.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

76

No.
2,076
392
2,468

%
84
16
100

Individual-level Variables

home value
Description
Value of primary home.
Survey Question
What is the approximate market value of your
primary home?
How Constructed
Demographic variable merged from the 2012
SCPC, originally named de014 in that dataset.
Note that the original question asked for values
to be reported in a thousands. However, many
respondents seemed to not notice this, and reported unreasonably large values. The data is
cleaned by ordering the responses and setting a
cutoff based on the largest log gap between one
response and the next largest. Any response below this gap is scaled by 1000.

0

N
min
1400
0

77

500000

med
164500

1000000

mean
232676

max
5e+06

1500000

sd
298944

Individual-level Variables

impact
Description
Impact from Hurricane Sandy.

impact
0
1
2
3
4
Total

Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
This variable is from a FEMA dataset of all
counties in the United States. The values describe the impact of Hurricane Sandy for each
county. The survey vendor merged the FEMA
dataset onto the 2012 DCPC dataset at the request of the CPRC.
Coding
0
1
2
3
4

No Sandy impact
Green (low)
Yellow (moderate)
Red (high)
Purple (very high)

78

No.
1,815
214
148
127
164
2,468

%
74
9
6
5
7
100

Individual-level Variables

income hh
Description
Household income (buckets).

income hh
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Total

Survey Question
Which category represents the total combined
income of all members of your family (living
here) during the past 12 months? This includes
money from jobs, net income from business,
farm or rent, pensions, dividends, interest, social security payments and any other money income received by members of your family who
are 15 years of age or older.
How Constructed
This variable is constructed based on both Q20
and Q21 from RAND My Household Questionnaire.

79

No.
75
42
48
70
77
110
128
133
164
135
243
220
260
291
223
188
60
2,467

%
3
2
2
3
3
4
5
5
7
5
10
9
11
12
9
8
2
100

Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

Less than $5,000
$5,000-$7,499
$7,500-$9,999
$10,000-$12,499
$12,500-$14,999
$15,000-$19,999
$20,000-$24,999
$25,000-$29,999
$30,000-$34,999
$35,000-$39,999
$40,000-$49,999
$50,000-$59,999
$60,000-$74,999
$75,000-$99,999
$100,000-$124,999
$125,000-$199,999
$200,000 or more

80

Individual-level Variables

income howpaid
Description
The method by which the respondent is paid his
or her primary income.

income howpaid No.
1
1,838
2
350
3
91
4
37
5
149
Total
2,465

Survey Question
How do receive your payment from your primary source of income? If you are paid by
some combination of the options below, or you
do not have a primary source of income, please
select Other and tell us in the box.
How Constructed
As reported in a question q20 of the questionnaire.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5

Direct deposit
Paper check
Cash
Payroll/Prepaid card
Other

81

%
75
14
4
2
6
100

Individual-level Variables

income rank
Description
Income rank within household.
Survey Question
What does your own personal income rank within
your household?

income rank
1
2
3
4
Total

How Constructed
Variable merged in from the 2012 SCPC, originally named de011.
Coding
1
2
3
4

Highest in my household
About equal to the highest (roughly the same as another household member)
2nd highest
3rd highest or lower

82

No.
1,259
262
536
251
2,308

%
55
11
23
11
100

Individual-level Variables

income source
Description
Primary source of income.

income source No.
1
890
2
591
3
48
4
188
5
356
6
85
7
306
Total
2,464

Survey Question
What is your primary source of regular income
each month?
How Constructed
As reported in a question q117 of the questionnaire.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Wages
Salary
Investment income
Retirement benefits
Social security benefits
Other government benefits
Other

83

%
36
24
2
8
14
3
12
100

Individual-level Variables

ind weight
Description
Raked individual sample weights.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
Raked individual sample weights. These weights
sum to 1 and have a mean equal to the number of observations. See the technical appendix
for more information about the creation of the
weights.

0

N
2468

84

1

min
0.270063

2

3

med
mean
0.726629
1

4

max
6.72142

sd
0.752841

Individual-level Variables

interest level
Description
Post-survey reported level of interest in the questions.
Survey Question
Could you tell us how interesting or uninteresting you found the questions in this interview?
How Constructed
As reported in question cs 001 in the questionnaire.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5

Very interesting
Interesting
Neither interesting nor uninteresting
Uninteresting
Very uninteresting

85

interest level
1
2
3
4
5
Total

No.
853
1,169
376
40
30
2,468

%
35
47
15
2
1
100

Individual-level Variables

last income date
Description
Reported date of last income payment.
Survey Question
Please tell us the date of the last time you received some form of income (salary, wages, government benefit, payment from a client, etc.).
How Constructed
As reported in a question q18 of the questionnaire. Respondents use a calendar widget to
enter their response.

86

Individual-level Variables

male
Description
Male or female.

male
0
1
Total

Survey Question
What is your gender?
How Constructed
Demographic information from RAND My Household Questionnaire, question q01.
Coding
0
1

Female
Male

87

No.
1,484
984
2,468

%
60
40
100

Individual-level Variables

marital status
Description
Marital status.

marital status
1
2
3
4
5
Total

Survey Question
Could you tell us what your current living situation is?
How Constructed
Demographic information from RAND My Household Questionnaire, question q07.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5

Married or living with a partner
Separated
Divorced
Widowed
Never married

88

No.
1,465
70
331
109
493
2,468

%
59
3
13
4
20
100

Individual-level Variables

memory checkbook
Description
Used small checkbook diary as memory aid.

memory checkbook
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Please tell us how you kept track of your daily
payments and cash activity.
How Constructed
As reported in question 25 of the questionnaire.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

89

No.
1,553
915
2,468

%
63
37
100

Individual-level Variables

memory finrec
Description
Referenced financial records as a memory aid.

memory finrec No.
0
1,893
1
575
Total
2,468

Survey Question
Please tell us how you kept track of your daily
payments and cash activity.
How Constructed
As reported in question 25 of the questionnaire.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

90

%
77
23
100

Individual-level Variables

memory lpd
Description
Used large paper diary as a memory aid.

memory lpd
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Please tell us how you kept track of your daily
payments and cash activity.
How Constructed
As reported in question 25 of the questionnaire.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

91

No.
1,790
678
2,468

%
73
27
100

Individual-level Variables

memory noaid
Description
Did not use a memory aid.

memory noaid
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Please tell us how you kept track of your daily
payments and cash activity.
How Constructed
As reported in question 25 of the questionnaire.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

92

No.
1,225
1,243
2,468

%
50
50
100

Individual-level Variables

memory other
Description
Used some other form of memory aid.

memory other
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Please tell us how you kept track of your daily
payments and cash activity.
How Constructed
As reported in question 25 of the questionnaire.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

93

No.
2,326
142
2,468

%
94
6
100

Individual-level Variables

memory receipts
Description
Kept receipts as a memory aid.

memory receipts
0
1
Total

Survey Question
Please tell us how you kept track of your daily
payments and cash activity.
How Constructed
As reported in question 25 of the questionnaire.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

94

No.
705
1,763
2,468

%
29
71
100

Individual-level Variables

mortgage debt
Description
Value of remaining debt on primary home.
Survey Question
About how much do you owe on loans for your
primary home, including mortgages, home equity loans, and home equity lines of credit?
How Constructed
Demographic variable merged in from the 2012
SCPC, originally named de015 in that dataset.
Note that the original question asked for values
to be reported in a thousands. However, many
respondents seemed to not notice this, and reported unreasonably large values. The data is
cleaned by ordering the responses and setting a
cutoff based on the largest log gap between one
response and the next largest. Any response below this gap is scaled by 1000.

0

N
min
1391
0

95

200000

med
73000

400000

mean
104883

max
4e+06

600000

sd
175657

Individual-level Variables

next income date
Description
Reported date of next expected income payment.
Survey Question
Please tell us the date when you next expect to
receive an income payment.
How Constructed
As reported in a question q19 of the questionnaire.

96

Individual-level Variables

non home assets
Description
Value of assets excluding primary home.
Survey Question
Excluding the market value of your primary home,
what is the approximate value of your household’s other assets? Include real estate other
than your primary home.
How Constructed
Demographic variable merged in from the 2012
SCPC, originally named de016 in that dataset.
Note that the original question asked for values
to be reported in a thousands. However, many
respondents seemed to not notice this, and reported unreasonably large values. The data is
cleaned by ordering the responses and setting a
cutoff based on the largest log gap between one
response and the next largest. Any response below this gap is scaled by 1000.

0

N
min
2221
0

97

500000

med
25000

1000000

mean
137404

max
3.1e+06

1500000

sd
308513

Individual-level Variables

nonmort debt
Description
Value of all non-mortgage debt.
Survey Question
Excluding the debt on the mortgage of your
primary home, what is the approximate dollar amount of your remaining debts? Examples
of other debts include credit card debt, student
loan debt, and car loan debt.
How Constructed
Demographic variable merged in from the 2012
SCPC, originally named de019 in that dataset.
Note that the original question asked for values
to be reported in a thousands. However, many
respondents seemed to not notice this, and reported unreasonably large values. The data is
cleaned by ordering the responses and setting a
cutoff based on the largest log gap between one
response and the next largest. Any response below this gap is scaled by 1000.

0

200000

N
min
2253
0

98

med
10000

400000

mean
43201.2

600000

max
2.2e+06

800000

sd
146636

Individual-level Variables

own home
Description
Whether or not the respondent owns his or her
home.

own home No.
0
902
1
1,409
Total
2,311

Survey Question
Do you and/or your spouse/partner own your
primary home? Note: Even if you have an unpaid mortgage, you are considered the owner
of the home.
How Constructed
As reported in the 2012 SCPC. The variable is
originally named de013 in that survey.
Coding
0
1

No
Yes

99

%
39
61
100

Individual-level Variables

paypref 1
Description
The respondent’s preferred payment method.

paypref 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
11
Total

Survey Question
Please tell us the payment method you most
prefer to use.
How Constructed
As reported in a question q115 of the questionnaire.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Cash
Check
Credit card
Debit card
Prepaid/Gift/EBT card
Bank account number payment
Online banking bill payment
Money order
Travelers check
Text message payment
Other payment method

100

No.
636
62
575
1,123
13
7
44
5
3
2,468

%
26
3
23
46
1
0
2
0
0
100

Individual-level Variables

paypref 1 why
Description
Why the respondent prefers his or her preferred
payment method.

paypref 1 why
1
2
3
4
5
6
Total

Survey Question
Please tell us the most important characteristic
of [PREFERRED METHOD] when making a
payment.
How Constructed
As reported in a question q116 of the questionnaire.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6

Security
Accepted at lots of places
Cost
Convenience
Budget control
Rewards

101

No.
265
325
43
1,353
313
169
2,468

%
11
13
2
55
13
7
100

Individual-level Variables

paypref 2
Description
The respondent’s fallback payment method.
Survey Question
In cases where you cant use [PREFERRED METHOD],
what is your preferred fallback payment method?
How Constructed
As reported in a question q117 of the questionnaire.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Cash
Check
Credit card
Debit card
Prepaid/Gift/EBT card
Bank account number payment
Online banking bill payment
Money order
Travelers check
Text message payment
Other payment method

102

paypref 2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
11
Total

No.
1,022
305
417
498
48
22
91
49
14
2,466

%
41
12
17
20
2
1
4
2
1
100

Individual-level Variables

paypref 2 why
Description
Why the respondent prefers his or her fallback
payment method.

paypref 2 why
1
2
3
4
5
6
Total

Survey Question
Please tell us the most important characteristic of [FALLBACK METHOD] when making
a payment.
How Constructed
As reported in a question q118 of the questionnaire.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6

Security
Accepted at lots of places
Cost
Convenience
Budget control
Rewards

103

No.
262
721
48
1,100
303
33
2,467

%
11
29
2
45
12
1
100

Individual-level Variables

scpc date num
Description
Date on which the SCPC was taken.
Survey Question
NA.
How Constructed
As reported by the survey vendor.

104

Individual-level Variables

state reside
Description
State of residence.
Survey Question
Now we would like to know about where you
live. In which state do you reside?
How Constructed
Demographic information from RAND My Household Questionnaire, question q03.

105

Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52

ALASKA [AK]
ALABAMA [AL]
ARIZONA [AZ]
ARKANSAS [AR]
CALIFORNIA [CA]
COLORADO [CO]
CONNECTICUT [CT]
DELAWARE [DE]
FLORIDA [FL]
GEORGIA [GA]
HAWAII [HI]
IDAHO [ID]
ILLINOIS [IL]
INDIANA [IN]
IOWA [IA]
KANSAS [KS]
KENTUCKY [KY]
LOUISIANA [LA]
MAINE [ME]
MARYLAND [MD]
MASSACHUSETTS [MA]
MICHIGAN [MI]
MINNESOTA [MN]
MISSISSIPPI [MS]
MISSOURI [MO]
MONTANA [MT]
NEBRASKA [NE]
NEVADA [NV]
NEW HAMPSHIRE [NH]
NEW JERSEY [NJ]
NEW MEXICO [NM]
NEW YORK [NY]
NORTH CAROLINA [NC]
NORTH DAKOTA [ND]
OHIO [OH]
OKLAHOMA [OK]
OREGON [OR]
PENNSYLVANIA [PA]
RHODE ISLAND [RI]
SOUTH CAROLINA [SC]
SOUTH DAKOTA [SD]
TENNESSEE [TN]
TEXAS [TX]
UTAH [UT]
VERMONT [VT]
VIRGINIA [VA]
WASHINGTON [WA]
WEST VIRGINIA [WV]
WISCONSIN [WI]
WYOMING [WY]
WASHINGTON D.C.
PUERTO RICO

106

Individual-level Variables

why no csh
Description
Why the respondent does not have any cash.

why no csh
1
2
3
5
Total

Survey Question
Please tell us why you don’t have any paper
cash.
How Constructed
As reported in a question q1a of the questionnaire.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5

I just ran out and I need to get more
I usually do not carry cash
I gave my cash to someone else, such as a family member/friend/housemate
My cash was stolen or lost
Other

107

No.
85
222
21
46
374

%
23
59
6
12
100

Individual-level Variables

work industry
Description
Area of employment.
Survey Question
Which of the following categories best describes
the type of work you [do/did]?
How Constructed
Demographic information from RAND My Household Questionnaire, question q17.
Coding
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Management
Business and Financial Operations
Computer and Mathematical
Architecture and Engineering
Life, Physical, and Social Science
Community and Social Services
Legal
Education, Training, and Library
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Healthcare Practitioner and Technical
Healthcare Support
Protective Service
Food Preparation and Serving Related
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
Personal Care and Service
Sales and Related
Office and Administrative Support
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
Construction and Extraction
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
Production
Transportation and Material Moving
108

work industry No.
0
1
1
186
2
164
3
82
4
56
5
40
6
77
7
37
8
304
9
69
10
136
11
142
12
36
13
89
14
45
15
63
16
232
17
254
18
21
19
51
20
66
21
94
22
84
Total
2,329

%
0
8
7
4
2
2
3
2
13
3
6
6
2
4
2
3
10
11
1
2
3
4
4
100