Here's How Bad Americans Are Doing With Money
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- What's up guys? Cyber Monday is here and my book, "Breaking Free From Broke" is on sale now for just 12 bucks. So go to ramseysolutions.com/store to get it today. How we doing America? I mean, really, not emotionally, not physically, not politically.

But financially, how are we doing? I'm guessing not great on all fronts. You can say that again. Well, today we're covering the latest report on just how bad it really is. So you can see how you stack up compared to your fellow American. And before we get going, hit those like and subscribe buttons because they remain in a state of not being clicked. And you need to fix that. You're the only one. It's up to you. You are the chosen one.

And if you want some context as to how we got this data, our research team here at Ramsey partnered with a third-party research panel to survey over a thousand Americans across the country. So let's take a look at the findings. The first question they asked: "Are you concerned about the economy's strength?" Almost 80% said, "Yes, I have concern." And when asked about their specific financial concern, 28% said inflation, 15% said not having enough for retirement, and 10% said lack of savings.

And that tracks. When you think about what ails the average person, they're thinking about the prices of groceries and gas and eggs and all the things. That's inflation. Then it's the future stuff. Oh my gosh, am I going to ever be able to retire from this job I hate? And then there's the day-to-day savings because they don't have anything saved for emergencies and they're putting it all on the credit card instead. Not good on all fronts. But let's see if it gets any better once we take a look under the old hood.

When it comes to consumer debt, 34% of Americans said they have at least $10,000 in debt. And here's what's interesting. Income did not change that stat one bit. People with incomes under $50,000 or over $100,000 both said they had $10,000 in debt, at least. And this negatively affects everyone involved, but obviously it hits the under 50K group a whole lot harder than the six-figure earners. The study also found that one in three can't afford Christmas, and 35% of people are using credit cards to make up the difference.

And for millennials and Gen Z, it's almost 50%. Looks like they'll be dreaming of a white elephant Christmas gift exchange. Let's keep it cheap. Let's keep it on budget, guys. Sadness is the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas aside, 36% of Americans went further into debt in the past 90 days alone. And the scariest part is that 54% said that debt is just a normal part of life.

which definitely makes sense if Eeyore is your spirit animal. And listen, I get that if a life with payments is all you know, then a life without payments seems like it's for someone else. But if being financially tap-trapped, strapped, capped, and zapped is normal, maybe it's time for a new normal. Maybe it's time for a normal where you take debt off the table completely. Not being able to afford Christmas gifts is just a symptom of a much deeper problem.

Because to no one's surprise, a lot of people also said they were struggling with bills and their day-to-day finances. 32% of people were honest enough to say, I never budget.

Good for you. Not for not budgeting, but for at least being honest about it. That's a good first step. The study also asked what people thought their top three budget busters were. They said, my kid's organic A2 milk, my hair care routine, and my French Bulldogs. Wait, that was, those were my personal answers. That wasn't supposed to make it into the survey. You have expensive taste, sir. Here's what they really said.

unexpected emergencies, eating out, and impulse purchases. The study also found that nearly half of U.S. adults under 40 paid a bill late in Q3 of 2024. And for Gen Z specifically, seven in 10 struggled to pay bills. Beige flag at best, fam. Not giving main character energy. I'll see myself out. Skippity. This is the worst chair to slide out from under. The pleather makes it very difficult.

Oh, don't give me that excuse. Now here's the deal. Two out of three of those budget busters are completely in your day-to-day control. And the third one becomes controllable once you have emergency savings stored away, which takes the discipline and grind to actually, you know, save money, which takes a budget. Because here's the thing. When you don't budget, you have no control over your money. But when you pay attention to your money, it behaves and you start to tell it where to go instead of wondering where it went.

So if you make $4,000 this month, you better tell every single one of those $4,000 where to go. Just like you told that guy in traffic exactly where he's going to go. That's some New England energy right there. I like it. Forget about it. But seriously, if you don't make a plan for your money, it's just going to wander away into little treats and impulse purchases. So get on a budget. I'll drop a link below to my favorite budgeting app to make it easy for you.

We also found that survey respondents are anxious about the future. And I'm not talking about the presidency or microplastics or whether Grey's Anatomy is going to make it to season 22. While those are all very legitimate concerns, 43% of workers in the U.S. said they're worried about losing their job. And it's worse for millennials and Gen Z, with over half feeling like their job wasn't secure. Now, that's understandable, but we also need to be rooted in truth here. Are there actually going to be layoffs? Are we in a deep recession?

No, that's not the case. Now, that doesn't even take the cake for the scariest stat. It's this one for me. Over one third of Americans, 37%, said they owe more money on their credit cards than they have in retirement savings. That's like having more water on the inside of your boat than on the outside. It's not looking good. Perfect example, the Titanic. Too soon? It's been 102 years. Don't at me. How long? How long can we wait? I can't wait any longer.

I'll never let go. Speaking of the Titanic, in a deeper dive on retirement, the study showed that 85% of U.S. adults are not investing enough to be on track to retire. So how much is enough in my book? 15% of your gross household income. And yet, get this, only 1 in 10 U.S. adults are actually investing 15% or more of their income. Here's how that breaks down a little further. Baby boomers are doing the best of

Of course, with 21% investing at least 15% of their income, compared to 16% of millennials in Gen X, and finally, and understandably, only 5% of Gen Z. Shad's Kimberly.

I still don't know what that means. - When you break it down by income, less than 10% of people making under 100,000 are investing 15%. But even six figure earners are lagging with a mere 37% investing at that 15% mark or more. And when you look at the investing stats by gender, the boys are winning. 22% of men are investing 15% while only 10% of women

Come on, ladies, step it up. If the future is female, let their retirement accounts prove it. Listen to some Beyonce and increase that contribution. Let's go. That is an applause line. Now, hear me out. There's some good reasons to not be investing right now. Maybe you're trying to pay off some debt or get a house down payment in place or save up that emergency fund. That's great. I applaud you. But if you're out of debt, you've got the emergency fund. You need to be doing this yesterday. Now, while there's some sad numbers here, I don't think it paints an accurate picture of what's possible.

The story doesn't have to end this way because with the right plan, the right habits and a big old paradigm shift, you can break free from this backwards system and live a life of financial freedom you never thought possible. So even if you're on the business end of these stats right now, you can rise above the sad state of personal finance.

Another thing you don't want to be in the business end of? Spammers, scammers, and stalkers. And that's why I love Delete.me, a sponsor of today's video. They find and remove your info from hundreds of these shady data broker sites that make money by selling your personal information. And Delete.me will send you a report showing you exactly where they found or moved your data and how much time they've saved you. And they've already saved me 55 hours. So help protect yourself from the risks of online scams and data breaches with our friends at Delete.me.

And right now you can get 20% off by going to join delete me.com/george, or click the link in the description below. And while you're saving time with delete me, you can be saving smarter with Laurel road. Another sponsor of today's episode, Laurel road offers top tier rates on their high yield savings account so that your money doesn't just sit there collecting dust. It walks, it grows, it collects interest.

There's no minimum balance, no sneaky fees, and your deposits are FDIC insured. And in a world where customer service is an oxymoron, they're changing that up with a premium care team full of real people ready to help when you need it. So go check them out at laurelroad.com slash george or click the link in the description below. Now I get it, there's not a lot to be stoked about in this study, but I'm a glass half full kind of guy. And ultimately, even if things are hard right now, things are more expensive than you'd like, you don't like what's happening in the White House or the economy or the job market,

I think there's a lot that we can control and it's a distraction to just focus on the things that we can't control. And you are the solution to your money problems, whether you believe it or not. So if you clicked on this video to see if you're the only one struggling or if your situation is normal, I'm here to tell you that you can be better than normal. You can rise above this broken system and you can win with money.

And I wrote a whole book about it called Breaking Free from Broke, The Ultimate Guide to More Money and Less Stress. And it's helped a lot of people do just that, focus on the things they can control and win with money despite what's happening in the world. So if you want to check it out, I'll drop a link in the description below. And the crux of this plan involves paying attention to your money to get control of it. If you've never created a plan for your money before, keep watching this next video where I walk you through it or just click the link in the description below.

Thanks for watching, God bless America, and Roll Tide, whatever makes you feel patriotic.