In honor of National Get Smart About Credit Day, CreditWise from Capital One released a new survey focused on credit behaviors and attitudes, revealing tension in how U.S. consumers think about finances.

According to the findings, 73 percent of those surveyed consider finances a source of stress in their lives, even more so than politics (59 percent), work (49 percent) and family (46 percent). Despite this outlook, 42 percent of all adults surveyed expressed optimism, expecting to be better off financially a year from now, while only 10 percent expect to be worse off.

"Good credit can go a long way in helping consumers achieve their financial goals, and National Get Smart About Credit Day is an opportune time for Capital One to further explore financial attitudes, behaviors and the impact credit has on financial wellbeing," said Chris Gatz, Head of CreditWise at Capital One. "We found that while people are optimistic about their financial future, few (16 percent) are very familiar with how to improve their credit score. With CreditWise, they can access their score, review their credit report and receive suggestions to improve their score."

Additional findings from the survey include:

Current Financial Climate for Younger Consumers

Finances are the biggest point of stress, particularly for younger consumers, with 82 percent of Generation Z and 81 percent of Millennial consumers surveyed saying finances are a source of stress in their lives.

Millennial women surveyed are significantly more stressed about finances (61 percent very stressful) than millennial men (47 percent).

Younger consumers surveyed are also the most optimistic, with more than half (53 percent) of Millennials who responded saying they will be better off a year from now and only six percent expecting to be worse off.

Credit Score Literacy

51 percent of U.S. consumers report that they regularly check their credit score while a quarter (25 percent) report they check when a bank or credit monitoring service suggests they do.

Despite the frequency with which U.S. consumers check their score, 29 percent admit they are not confident they would know what to do if they saw something strange on their credit report.

When it comes to specific life events that could impact one's credit score, U.S. consumers report feeling the most concerned about their credit score when buying a house (62 percent), buying a car (60 percent), wedding/divorce (34 percent) and holiday shopping (33 percent).

More than half (59 percent) of respondents want to learn more about tips to improve their credit score.

Financial Management & Tools

Digital tools are consumers' preferred way to manage their finances with around half (51 percent) of those surveyed primarily using digital/online tools.

CreditWise is one of several digital tools from Capital One focused on helping consumers succeed financially. Whether a Capital One customer or not, consumers can enroll in CreditWise, a free credit monitoring tool that helps users understand, improve and monitor their credit. With CreditWise, users can access their VantageScore 3.0 credit score, view their TransUnion® credit report as often as they like, and get suggestions to help improve their score. CreditWise also has innovative features to help users monitor their credit and keep better tabs on their information.