Americans spend nearly four hours a day thinking about money, according to Empower’s new Money on the Mind report. That’s as much as a part-time job and even more than most of us spend preparing meals and exercising combined.
The new research reveals that more than half (54%) say they’re thinking about money more often now than they did last year.
- All that time is spent focusing on bills (57%), inflation and rising prices (51%), housing costs (34%), debt (30%), tariffs (28%) and retirement savings (24%).
- More than half (55%) of Americans report thinking about retirement weekly and 27% do it daily, while 22% of high-income earners say retirement is on their mind multiple times a day.
- But we’re not just thinking about finances, we’re checking on them. A quarter (24%) checks their bank account daily and 17% checks financial accounts, including credit cards and investments multiple times a day.
- Sometimes money keeps us up at night, with 36% of Americans saying they lose sleep over financial worries. That jumps to 44% for millennials, while boomers report sleeping better, just 24% lose sleep over their finances.
- Over a third (38%) admit that money-related thoughts interfere with their ability to focus during the day.
- These thoughts can inspire action, as 33% are thinking about how to grow their money and 30% are focused on how to achieve long-term security.
- And their efforts are paying off. About one in five (20%) say they’ve significantly improved their credit score, paid off debt (20%), created a successful budget (19%) or spending plan (19%).
- While 47% say a higher income would ease their financial stress, 45% say lower living expenses would do the trick.
- Overall, nearly half (47%) are optimistic they’ll reach their financial goals.
Source: Empower