Most Americans Are Unsatisfied With Their Savings, Yahoo Finance/Marist Poll 2025 Survey Shows

In the year In 2024, Americans face a number of financial challenges that will impact their ability to effectively save and manage their money. Inflation has been a major concern, driving up the cost of things like housing, groceries and consumer goods and reducing household budgets.

Credit card debt is at an all-time high. Rising interest rates on credit cards and loans have made it harder for consumers to pay off their balances. Additionally, many households have depleted their excess savings during the pandemic, leaving them with a financial cushion.

With all this in mind. Yahoo Finance has partnered with Marist Paul To survey more than 3,000 bank adults (those with at least one checking or savings account) in the U.S. about the financial struggles and risks families face. Here’s what Americans say are the biggest obstacles to saving and how they feel about their money heading into 2025.See our full methodology here.)

• Only 22% of respondents are very satisfied with savings, while 35% are very or not at all satisfied. 40% of women are very or not at all satisfied with savings, compared to 28% of men.

• Nearly half (48%) of respondents will save less in 2024 than last year, and only 21% will save more.

• Nearly half (47%) of respondents cite cost of living as the biggest barrier to saving.

• A third (33%) of respondents would not be able to cover bills even for a month if they lost their income.

• 44% of respondents believe they will save more by 2025, with the highest optimism among Gen Z (63%) and Millennials (53%).

• Sixty percent of respondents say they are more optimistic about their finances next year with Donald Trump as president. This optimism crosses generational lines, with Gen Z (70%) being the most optimistic.

We’re ready to learn more about how higher costs and competing financial obligations have impacted Americans’ savings. Here’s what we found:

In the post-Covid-19 world, the rising cost of living dominated the financial news headlines. Many households felt the pinch when inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022. Even if inflation moderates (the consumer price index is up 2.7 percent year over year in November 2024), housing, groceries and other essentials are here to stay for the foreseeable future.

Overall, our survey found that the majority of respondents described the cost of living in their area as “very unaffordable” (45%), while another 22% said it was not at all affordable.

On the other hand, Gen Z respondents are more likely to describe the cost of living as “very affordable” (9%) than other generations: Millennials (8%), Gen X (3%) and Baby Boomers/Silent/Greater Generations (2 %).

Not only are survey respondents unhappy with the cost of living in their area, but most are struggling to pay for their needs while saving for the future.

More than a quarter of survey respondents say they live comfortably. Older Americans (baby boomers/silent/older generations) live comfortably (40%) more likely to speak.

Meanwhile, 31% of respondents are able to meet their basic expenses with little money left over for extra profits, while another 30% are able to meet their basic expenses. And 12% say they don’t have enough money to cover their basic living expenses.

Everyone’s savings goals are different based on lifestyle, family size, debt obligations, and more. The results are mixed on whether Americans are satisfied with their savings so far.

In our survey, 35 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with their savings. Women (40%) are more likely than men (28%) to say they are very or not at all satisfied with savings – perhaps not surprising given the financial problems many women face, including the gender pay gap and high care burdens. Responsibilities.

Read more: What is the average savings by age??

This past year has been a tough one for American savings. Despite historically high savings account interest rates, consumers are faced with inflation, debt interest rates, higher education costs, and more.

Nearly half of respondents in our survey reported saving less in 2024 compared to 2023. Only 21% reported saving more money. About a third of respondents said they saved the same amount.

Overall, women are more likely to say they have less money saved in 2024 than in 2023 (53 percent vs. 42 percent for men), especially Millennial and Gen X women (57 percent and 59 percent, respectively).

Read more: How to save money in 2025: 50 tips to grow your wealth

With a new year — and a new administration — we wanted to find out how Americans’ saving habits will change in 2025.

It’s not all doom and gloom, especially for young savers. Younger Americans are more likely to say they will save more: 63% of Gen Z and 53% of Millennials versus 44% of Gen X and 25% of the Baby Boomer/Silent/Older Generations.

Those in the Baby Boomer/Silent/Older Generations (44%) are the most likely to have saved the same amount by 2025. Women, however, are more likely than men to say they will save less money this year (27% and 20%, respectively).

Read more: The 4 best (and worst) places to keep your emergency fund

We want to know more about the various challenges that keep savers from reaching their savings goals.

Almost half of respondents (47%) identified it as a major obstacle to saving money. Other common reasons include unexpected bills or expenses (11%), too many financial obligations (10%), and a change in income or work situation (10%).

Older Americans are least likely to report that they face no temptation to save money (19%).

Gen Xers and Millennials are more likely to ask family and friends for help in a financial emergency.

In times of financial trouble, there are a number of ways you can take to cover your bills – some better for your bottom line than others.

The highest percentage of respondents (26%) say their solution is to use their savings. 15% say they will cut costs and 14% say they will take on more work or more hours.

Another 10% of respondents say they would ask a family member or friend for help in a financial emergency, with Gen Xers and Millennials the most likely to do so (15% for both).

Gen Xers and Baby Boomers/Silent/Older Generations are more likely to put their spending on a credit card (10%).

Most experts recommend keeping at least three to six months worth of expenses in an emergency fund. However, given the many barriers to recovery that Americans face, not everyone can meet this guideline.

The average length of time respondents were able to cover their expenses using readily available funds in their checking or savings accounts was seven months.

However, one in three respondents say they cannot cover their bills and expenses even for a month. Gen Z (38%) and Millennials (41%) are more likely than other generations to say they haven’t been able to pay their bills for a month.

In contrast, Gen X and baby boomers/silent/elderly generations (19% for both) are more likely than younger generations to have enough savings to last them a year or more.

Read more: How much money should I keep in an emergency savings account?

For better or worse, with a new administration often comes a new economic agenda. And most Americans are expecting positive changes.

A majority of respondents (60%) are more optimistic about their personal finances with Trump’s next presidency. This was a consensus across generations, with Gen Z being the most optimistic (70%). The Baby Boomer/Silent/Older Generations were the most pessimistic (46%).

Read more: How much should you save from your salary??

This survey of 3,131 adults was conducted from December 3 to December 5, 2024 by Marist Poll in partnership with Yahoo Finance. Adults aged 18 and older living in the United States were contacted in a multimodal design: using face-to-face interviewers, in writing, or online. All respondents were screened for age.

Probability-based sampling frames include in-state and out-of-state mobility based on RDD landline and listed landline, RDD cell phone sampling, and cell phone sampling based on billing address. These samples were provided by Dinata and were used to administer telephone and written web surveys. A sampling frame based on non-aggregated online research panels was randomly selected from the Cint Digital Insights platform to administer the web-collected surveys.

Survey questions are available in English or Spanish. All samples were selected to ensure that each region was proportionally represented in the adult population. The samples were matched and balanced to reflect the 2022 American Community Survey five-year estimate by age, gender, income, race, and region.

Results for all adults (n=3,131) were statistically significant within ±2.1 percentage points. Results for bank households (n=2,828) are statistically significant within ±2.2 percentage points. The effect of this survey design is 1.4, which is included in the calculation of all reported error margins. The partisan breakdown among registered voters for this survey is 38% Democrat, 36% Republican, and 25% independent.