11 Personal Finance Statistics You Need to Know

 We have done some research for our keynote speech and we came across some really cool stats that we want to share with you. Are they cool? I don’t want to say gut wrenching, but they’re eye opening.

Yeah. Here’s the deal. They just prove what we already knew, which is not to sound, I’m not trying to sound prideful or whatever, but When we work with you guys, we, this is why we do what we do. This is why we set up the systems that we set up because of all these stats. They’re true. And you come to us and you make good money, but all of the money isn’t doing what you want it to do.

And you make good money, but you have no money. Yeah, exactly. Which is bananas.

📍 Do you make good money, but have nothing to show for it. Are you tired of living paycheck to paycheck? Do you have a big dreams for your financial future? Do you want to get debt-free but you don’t want to live on beans and rice or you don’t want to give up those pumpkin spice lattes. Hey, it’s okay.

If you don’t already know how to budget or if you’re using credit cards to get through the month. Hey, it’s okay. If you want to seem like you have your finances all together, or you’re not on the same page with your spouse, when it comes to finances. We know what you’re doing, probably isn’t working, but guess what? You’re in the right place. We’re Shayna and Vanessa we’re best friends, business partners and master financial coaches trained by Dave Ramsey we’ve been in business since 2019, helping hundreds of amazing people. Like you create budgets, get out of debt, stop living paycheck to paycheck, and know exactly what to do with their money. In this podcast we’ll share with you everything we know plus everything we’re working on with our clients so that you have the best chance at reaching your financial goals we want to help you take the guesswork out of your budget improve your marriages and even bring your kids in on the conversation we can help you no matter where you’re at whether you’re the single mom who’s never had $500 in her savings account or the millionaire who’s paid off for real estate mortgages and we’re not going to shy away from the tough love We’ll tell you what you need to hear and encourage you at the same time this is the financial coaching for women podcast

 Okay. So the first step, let’s just go into it from the American Psychological Association reported that 72%. of adults report feeling stressed about money. That’s a lot of people. It is. We hear it all the time and people, and I’m curious, I would love to have some type of survey with all of our listeners.

How you found us? What did you type in the search to come across our podcast? Because we do know that people are feeling really stressed about money. Yeah. . Yeah. And it goes with that Bible verse that says don’t, you can’t serve two masters. And what we say is, you think that you’re not serving money because you’re not trying to idolize it, you’re not trying to chase after it necessarily.

You don’t care. Like you’re, it’s not, that’s not your heart. . But if money has your emotions, if money has your, has you stressed if money has you not being able to sleep as well, or it’s controlling some of the decisions that you make. Then it is your master, right? And it’s a bummer.

And we don’t like that 72 percent now there, what we want is for the money to be running in the background and doing what it’s supposed to be doing. Cause it’s not a matter of you not making enough. It’s just that it’s not doing the right things for you to feel not stressed. And the idea here is like Shana said, If you’re realizing that your decisions are based on whether or not you have the money to do them, which we understand that money makes the world go around.

We’re not saying we don’t get that, but what we’re trying to get you to understand is that you can use it just as a tool, as a resource, right? We want you to have the money in your bank account that you deserve to have, because a lot of people right now are making all the money. And they’re spending it as quick as it comes in.

And they have no idea where it’s going. I have a client, they they do timber, and they get significant checks throughout the year. But it literally goes out as fast as it comes in. They have no idea how they’re spending it all. And this last time they got their check, it was the first time we ever specifically made a plan for it, and it did so much more for them.

Like it just served them so much more because they had a plan and they knew what was going on. Yeah. And so the next one we have two sets that kind of go together and it’s about your time. Because what we found is the main is the problem is, you don’t have time for all of this money budget things.

Not only do you not want to do it cause it’s the B word, but like you just can’t find the time to do it. And so one of the stats that we found from the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the average full time worker spends 43. point five hours a week at work, and that doesn’t include commute or maybe anything that you’re doing from home, right?

That’s at work, and then tell us about the moms, Vanessa. Yes, so Welch’s did a study, on moms, and they found that the average work day is eight hours, but moms are actually pulling 14 hour shifts every single day.

And the study found that mothers are typically on the job quote unquote, right? starting at 6 23 in the morning and they don’t have a moment to themselves until 8 31 at night every single day. Absolutely. So we know that is all true. So because you can’t find the time to do this budgeting thing because you don’t have any time to yourself.

And yeah, and this, like Shannon was saying before about the 43. 5 hours, that’s just work. Now this other study is taking to account. School, kids, mom Uber, right? Yes, all of that other stuff that just piles in and so you don’t have a moment until the kids go to bed. And I think that, the other, so we see this because a lot of times people can’t do any of their homework.

until they get to the session. Like the fact that they have carved out 45 minutes for themselves during the day is mind blowing. And then the other part where, maybe you’re both working full time. You’re getting both of you to a money conversation at this at one time is difficult. Now that’s why coaching is such a good idea because it forces, it’s like a doctor’s appointment where it forces you to put it in your calendar to pay attention to it.

And but we understand that you’re busy. We know. And actually that’s the whole reason that we set up the system. We help you set up systems that we do because you need, it needs to be running and doing it for you instead of you having to take the time and do all this stuff every day or week or whatever.

My session with my client yesterday, she said, yeah, my assistant asked me five minutes before my session, did you even do any of your homework? And she said, no, I said, that’s okay. We’re going to do it right now. We’re all going to do it together. Because Shana said, you have time. She runs a huge wellness center and she started this million dollar company on accident. Literally. It was really funny how it all came together and it was such a God plan, but she has zero time. She’s literally starting. She has a little girl. She’s starting first thing in the morning, ending at night and she’s work, work all the time trying to get this thing up and going.

And so the only time that she has for herself is the 45 minute sessions with us. And that’s okay. We’re going to help her plan that time and do it and make sure she gets a lot of stuff done. Yeah, it is okay. I just said to a client the other day, or a new client said you’re either going to be one of two.

You’re going to have it all done by the time I get to the session with you, or you haven’t looked at it or been able to do it since the last time we talked, which is both are okay. That is why we’re doing what we’re doing. If we can just get the systems in place, you don’t need to be spending all of this time.

And what was it that your client Nicole, she came on the podcast and she said, She went from however many hours and now she can get all for four budgets for all the businesses in her personal budget She only has to spend three hours a month. Yep. That’s a big deal. That’s huge. It really changed her life for sure Okay so another stat that we found from the National Endowment for financial education said that 54 percent of Americans say that they live paycheck to paycheck and what’s bonus or what’s bogus is You might be thinking that’s not me.

I’m not broke. I have money, whatever. But you guys come to us all the time and it says, yeah, I shouldn’t be living paycheck to paycheck, but it feels that way. It feels like I’m living that way. And that doesn’t feel good. So most of the clients that we work with are making $150,000 or more, and they’re still coming to us saying that they are living paycheck to paycheck. So this isn’t a money. This isn’t an income problem. This is a spending problem, or really, and I don’t know what’s going on.

Problem. Yeah. I mean, they’re their heads in the sand. They have no idea what’s happening with their money. And that’s why really that they’re living paycheck to paycheck. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Another Study was done by Northwestern mutual planning, planning, and progress. And they said 22% of Americans have less than $5,000 saved for retirement.

And this is possibly maybe not. But the point being is it’s relatable because you’re probably not saving as much as you want. You’re probably not being as quote unquote, aggressive with your investments or savings strategies as you want. And so that’s what we’re here. That’s what we want to help you with.

You want to be knowing that your money is going where you want it to go, and you’re not wasting it all for. Frivolously because you just don’t have a plan. Well, and a lot of people are saving for retirement and they’re pulling it. We’re saving or pulling it. So they really, at the end of the day, aren’t they don’t have. Oh, my gosh.

If you pull, do not. The answer is no, if you’re thinking, should I pull stuff out of this? Stuff out of my retirement to pay off debt. No. Should I pull this out to buy a new house? No. Should I pull this out to get a pool? No. They’ll know, Vanessa, tell him no. Literally the answers now. But the problem is that they are, they’re doing that.

So our goal, we work with a lot of financial advisors and planners because our goal is they want you to be good investors, good people, good people. We do want them to good people. Those people that put money in and never have to pull it out right. Consistently investing over a long period of time. And you cannot do that.

If you consistently feel broke and you feel the need to pull your money. Yeah. Okay. Another stat that was interesting was. It’s from the national foundation for credit counseling. 60% of Americans don’t have a budget. Oh, we know that most of you are using your bank account balance. That’s a budget or you’re using your credit card. What is it, your limit, your credit card limit?

As about as a budget, that’s not a budget. Y’all, that’s not, that’s a, that’s a number that they told you that you can use. Like you can have this amount of money to use, and most of you will, you’ll like tear that line. Yeah. Maybe step over a little bit, but that’s not a budget. Imagine if you’re spending freely a month.

I mean, I had a client they’re spending $20,000 a month on a credit card and that was easy and they were just all just paid off at the end of the month. Well, you’re behind a month is what you’re doing. You’re having to rack it up. And then when your paycheck comes in, you pay it off. Imagine if you actually had $20,000 a month where you are putting it strategically in certain places, right. And it was doing things for you and making money for you, maybe in an investment account.

And here’s the deal again? It’s not that you don’t make good money. It’s not that you couldn’t be doing all of this. They’re just not. And that’s, that’s what we’re here for. Like John Maxwell says a budget is telling your money where to go. Instead of wondering where it went. That is the point here.

We’re telling it where to go, because we have lots of it. We can do good things. We can do big things with this money, but instead of just watching it dwindle or using, like we said, the, the number as a budget, we’re going to say, this is exactly where I want you to go on purpose. Yeah. All right. So the next one, it comes from the consumer financial protection bureau saying that 58% of people who do budget regularly feel more confident about their financial situation.

Shocker. I imagine that, and this kind of goes along with. We said the very first one where it said 72% of adults. Report feeling stressed about money. Well, okay then if that’s true, then obviously the next one is of those 72%, probably 60% of them are don’t have a budget. Okay. But Hey, the 58% that do are feeling great. Yeah. We really want you to understand that there’s a correlation here. And confident, love the word confidence, because we want you to be confident with your money right now, your. You know, the way that we hear that you come to us is I I should know better and I should be doing better.

And I wish I knew where my money was going. I wish I had this plan. We do want you to be competent with the budget. You’re like, wow, look, it’s all doing, I know exactly where my money’s going. And I feel good about that. I feel confident. And then we want you to be confident, like a CFO, like feeling. I know my numbers.

I’m not my, head’s not in the sand. I’m not shying away from it. I know my numbers, I’m savvy, I’m smart. And I can like, I can project everything and, and you’re, you’re owning it. We want you to take ownership of it. Well, instead of being shocked and surprised that it just. It just, oh, it worked out like, I didn’t even know I had the money for that.

We want you to do is like Shanna said be confident and go, oh yeah, that money is there. Why? Because I made it be there on purpose. Yep.

📍   📍 We’ll get right back to the show, but we wanted to give you a heads up right now that our signature budget template and course is available

guys. It is simple, easy to use and pretty plus it comes with walk through videos and special trainings that teach you exactly how to budget. We’re going to teach you the exact systems we use with our clients to get out of debt, to set up the savings buckets, to create the bills account and to know exactly what’s going on with your paychecks and so much more.

And so if you’re new to budgeting, our system will. We’ll help you get started easily. And if you’re a budget nerd like us, this system is about to become your new best friend, your new obsession, because it’s the exciting game-changing upgrade to your budget that you need right now.

So head on over to budgetbesties.com/budget.

Now let’s jump back to today’s show.

 All right. So the next one from credit karma states that nearly 30% of Americans have paid a bill late in the past year. Okay. Again, Like, I’m just thinking back to my client yesterday, they make such good money.

They’re going to, I think they had $5,000 extra this month, which they did get a wedding gift that they’re not going to particularly. Oh, she listens to knows what I’m talking about. She makes good money and she may not have had a, well, she may have had some bills late, but she w what this reminds me of is she’s breaking a lot of bills up because that’s what she thought she had to do.

Right. Instead of having a monthly payment, she’s doing like weekly payments or whatever, because she thought she had to, and this is similar to paying a bill late. Like all of this is shenanigans guys. You make enough money that you don’t have to be late. So you just need a plan. You don’t have to break up payments.

You just need to plan.

. Clients who come to us all the time saying that, Hey, listen, can I start coaching in installments? Because I’m so used to paying either paycheck to paycheck or weekly on stuff because , they can’t afford to pay for things in full. And we have got to get off that cycle.

We’ve got to get off this cycle of paying. Like. We said by paycheck or weekly and get onto the note, I can actually afford the full mortgage payment. Yeah. Because I’ve saved up and I know what’s going on with my money. Well, and this, this system allows you to be ahead, right? You’re going to become a paycheck ahead.

So there’s always money in there to pay your full your bills on time and in full, you don’t even have to worry about it. I told, I told my client yesterday, I was like, I’m going to see you in two weeks. Don’t even look at your numbers until then don’t touch it. Don’t look at it like just you’re good.

And I know that’s weird. I know it’s weird to just be like, I’m just going to leave my hands away from it. That’s what you need to do. And that’s what you can do when you put our systems in place. I’m like, it’s going to be 14 days. Don’t do anything. Yeah. Like just, don’t just let it run. Okay. So the university of Chicago is a national opinion research center stated that financial tools in coaching can save individuals an average of eight hours per month. A lot of times, it’s a lot of time and Hey, guess what? We all have extra eight hours. Yeah. So this is the point you, because you’re having to rearrange money or you’re trying to stress out about this, or you’re going here and there, if you just put these, if you get some coaching and then you get. Like our system and you put it into place. Then you’re going to save time.

You’re going to save time and you’re going to save money and you’re going to save like emotional stress. There’s so much that goes along with this, that you’re going to save from just figuring out what’s going on, getting the right tools and assistance and automation in place to make this happen. And all of that can just be behind you.

Absolutely. Okay. Now, now we’re on number 10 because we’ve only got 11, so we’re getting close to the end there. The money geek did a survey and said 68% of holiday expenses. Christmas spending was charged her credit card. And we believe you because most of you are coming to us with those credit cards that you racked up in January. Or, you know, you come to us in January.

Cause we just racked up the credit cards because we didn’t have our savings bucket system. That’s as simple as it is. And what if this is the first Christmas coming up that you guys paid cash for? Like you could start now start saving now for the next couple of months and really put a plan in place to pay cash for the first time that the holiday season, and this is going to feel so amazing.

It feels so good. And that’s just starting the new year going. I have no debt from 2024. It’s going. And I want to pause here because you do make good money. And I was, I just had a client a couple days ago and she wants to, she knows she’s a little excessive with her Christmas spending on her kids. And I’m like, Owning it.

Yeah. That’s fine. Nobody’s here to tell you can’t do that. If you want to spoil your kids on Christmas, spoil your kids on Christmas this year, she has her savings buckets. They’re not going to have to use credit cards. She’s not going to have to figure out if she can afford when she can afford how she can afford.

She’s got the money and she’s going to have it in there. And more importantly, she’s going to have it in there by October. So when the deals are coming out, she has the money in there and that’s where you want to beat. You don’t want to have to rely on a credit card. You want to have the money in there.

You can feel good about being generous about giving gifts. That is the spirit of the season. And to. That’s the big thing here is to just allow you to feel that way instead of stress, knowing that you’re going to have to figure out how to pay for it later. Well, and one of the things we like to say is like, if your family members or your kids, your friends, whoever knew that you were rocking all of this up on credit and the amount of stress that you felt going into there, or coming out of the holiday season, really, after you spent all that money, do you think that anyone would really want you to do that?

And the answer is no. Nobody wants you to feel that way. So. Let’s just take that off. Just start. Paying cash, spoiler or kids do what you want, but just have the cash to do it. And. And divvied up going. Okay. How much do I think I can spend on Christmas? Here’s the amount of money that I’m going to have for it.

And I’m going to divvy it up and make it to where I’m able to spend money on everything that I want, but in a more conservative way until maybe you have better savings buckets set in place for 2025. So you can save for 12 months versus maybe just these last couple, that you’ve where you just started thinking about it.

Well, and I love what you said because what your. Th this is a big deal, not using credit and using cash and said is a big first step. There may be other steps that you’re going to take, but that all in and of itself is a huge deal. So you should be really proud if that’s, if you can’t pay off debt, but you’re paying cash for Christmas.

That’s good enough. Like. Be really proud of. Pat yourself on the back, hashtag mission accomplished good job. That is a big deal. And then eventually you might be able to to, you know, like Vanessa, you can refocus or whatever, and you can do more and get better, but just be proud of yourself if you get to pay, get to get through the season without using that.

Sure. All right. So this next one, the last one, number 11, guys that goes along with the holiday expenses, kind of NerdWallet did a survey. An 83% of summer travelers plan to pay. For at least part of their vacation expenses with debt. Let me tell you how much fun it is to come back from vacation, knowing that you have a credit card bill that you have to figure out how to pay off that’s gaining interest until you do pay it off.

It’s not, it’s not, it’s more fun to do it. Do it not that way. And that’s what Vanessa is saying. Like the go together. It’s the savings buckets. Plan where your money’s going on purpose and pay cash for things because you can, you can afford to pay cash for things. You just need that system in place to make it happen.

I had a client one time, loved him so much. He was super bougie and he was like, listen, I can pay off my debt super fast, but I’m not missing out on any of my vacations that I already have plans I’m going. And I was like, all right, good. Hey, here’s another thing. How about we take cash for them? And he was like, oh, So he paid cash for all of his future vacations while paying off debt. You know, for his pacifications cause that’s what he said.

This is the first time I’ve ever paid cash for vacation. I’ve always put it on debt and then having to, you know, having to pay for it later, after his bonuses and stuff came in. So he paid. Off his debt all while going on vacation and paying cash for that. And I also had another friend who went to Hawaii and rocked up a $10,000 credit card bill while she was there.

Okay. This isn’t like the cost of the trip to get there. That was already also on the card. But literally while they were there, it was $10,000. On that. And so she, in years, guys, it took her years to pay that off. Yeah. Well, I just think about the first or not the first, well, yes, the first and only time, I’m probably going to Disney world, but I might listen listeners if I say that, so don’t even hear that you didn’t hear anything of that, but we paid for it in cash.

And that’s what, because the default is to just use a credit card and figure it out later. That’s not what you’re doing, what we’re saying, taking ownership of your finance, being confident you can afford. So that is what a savings bucket for for vacations and travel is for. And that’s how you can afford this because. This is people not having a plan.

They’re using credit cards. They’re like, oh, whatever, we’ll figure it out. That doesn’t inspire confidence. That doesn’t help you sleep better at night, that doesn’t help you be less stressed. So that’s why we set up all of these systems is so that you can not feel that way. Yeah, absolutely. So we hope that you’ve loved these stats.

So we really enjoyed. Getting them. Yeah. Reading them and walking through them with you guys and we all nerded out together. And remember, this is just evidence of what we are all already know. So that’s why you need to take action. Get in control of your finance, take ownership and set up systems.

We have coaching. We have the budget system for you. Like whatever you need, you can take care of control and you can do this. The only one of these stats that we want you guys to be part of is that 58% of people who budget regularly feel more confident about their financial situation, all the other ones.

We don’t want you to be a number of, we want you to excommunicate the rest of those. So, all right, we’ll see you next time.

  📍 Hey, if you found value in this podcast and you’re ready to go deeper, here are some ways we can connect. First go ahead and take the leap book, a free 20 minute financial coaching call with us.

This is your chance to ask questions, to get personalized advice and start mapping out your financial journey for free. It’s on us. We’re treating you just hop on a call chat with for 20 minutes. It’s going to be great. Yeah next, join our supportive Facebook group, where you can connect with other like-minded people who are trying to figure out this budget thing, just like you, or if you want to take it to the next level, grab our signature budget template.

You’ve heard us talk about it. It’s a game changer for organizing and optimizing your finances. It’s practical. User-friendly and it’s the perfect tool girl. To start making real progress. And if you’re ready to get serious about your finances and you know, you need the accountability sign up for financial coaching.

Now, guys, this is the one-on-one hand holding that, you know, you need, let’s be honest guys, if you’re going to do it on your own, you would have done it already. So that’s what we’re here for. Yes.

And Hey, if today’s conversation sparked a new idea or inspired a change in you, why not share that spark? Tell a friend about the podcast and leave us a review on iTunes. Your words could be the nudge that someone else needs to start their journey towards financial freedom. And by the way, as we say goodbye, remember your financial journey, your wellbeing.

Isn’t just about numbers. It’s about all the peace, the joy, the lack of stress that it’s going to bring into your life. So you’ve got this and we’re here to support you every step of the way