Business owners tend to be cautious with personal finances

While it takes confidence and courage to open a veterinary clinic, practice owners may shy away from taking too many risks with their personal finances, according to a new study.

The Kauffman Foundation report, titled Business Owners, Financial Risk, and Wealth, found that 45 percent of business owners said it was important to them to save for retirement, compared to 32 percent of non-business owners. In addition, business owners focused on long-term savings—they were more likely than non-business owners to say that their saving goal was five or more years in the future.

Business owners also did more work when researching their financial options. Ninety-one percent of business owners said they spent at least a “moderate” amount of time shopping for the best investment or borrowing terms, while just 82 percent of non-business owners said the same.

Finally, business owners are more likely to borrow from other sources, the report found. In the past five years, 84 percent of business owners applied for a loan, compared to 64 percent of non-business owners. Just 23 percent of business owners were declined, while 31 percent of non-business owners were turned down.

So how are your personal finances looking, associates? Perhaps it’s time to start saving.