A southern Colorado man is concerned over a survey that may be confused with the U.S. Census. He said he thought it was the Census until he realized the 28-page questionnaire asks for too much personal information.

The man doesn't want to reveal his identity, but he showed 11 News the packet he got in the mail a few days ago. "I've never seen anything like this before," he said.

He started to fill out the survey, thinking it was the census, until some of the questions startled him. He thought some of the subjects were too intrusive for a government survey. He said, "they want to know what kind of jewelry you have and what kind of TVs you have, and all kinds of personal questions."

Just like the 2010 U.S. Census, the personal survey came after a letter telling him to keep an eye out for the survey, which was headed his way. But, the two surveys are very different. The official census only has 10 questions in it. It is not a 28-page packet with dozens of questions, most of which ask about your spending habits.

"I thought, why does the government want to know all of this information," he said. But, the bottom line is, it does not.

The survey is sent out by the Ipsos Mendelsohn Research Company in New York. 11 News talked with the company president Sunday. He says his company has been conducting this voluntary survey for decades. It's meant to track the spending habits of people who make more than $100,000 a year. High end retailers pay Mendelsohn to ask you these questions so they can find out where people are spending their money.

As for the U.S. Census, there's a full description and explanation of the questions in its survey. To see that, just click the link posted below.