- Nearly three quarters (70%) of Americans have financial regrets from 2024, the most common being not saving money (31%).
- More than half (51%) of Americans expect to have credit card debt heading into 2025, with roughly one-in-seven (15%) expecting to have $10K or more.
- Roughly three quarters (73%) of Americans are committed to breaking bad financial habits in 2025, with not saving money being the top bad habit they’re committed to breaking (34% of Americans and 40% of Gen Z ages 18-27).
The new year symbolizes a fresh start, but for the countless Americans heading into 2025 with debt, that might be wishful thinking.
According to a new study conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Intuit Credit Karma among 2,092 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, 70% of Americans have financial regrets from 2024, rising to 86% of Gen Z. The most common financial regret shared among Americans was not saving money (31%) – which was the case for 42% of those with an annual household income (HHI) of less than $50k and 36% of Gen Z – followed by overspending (25%). While 36% of Gen Z regret not saving in 2024, their most common financial regret is overspending (41%).
Admissions of overspending could signal debt troubles. In fact, half of Americans (51%) expect to have credit card debt heading into 2025, with roughly a quarter (24%) expecting to have $5k or more in debt, and roughly one-in-seven (15%) expect to have $10k or more.
While excessive spending may be a common reason for Americans’ debt troubles, other reasons are likely more out of their control. In 2024, 67% of Americans experienced financial setbacks, including 75% of those with an annual HHI less than $50k, with the most common financial setbacks being unexpected expenses (24%), taking on debt (22%) and their income declined (20%).
In many instances, women fared worse than men. This year, more than a quarter (27%) of women say a financial setback they faced was unexpected expenses (v. 22% of men), a quarter (25%) of women cite taking on debt (v. 20% of men), 22% of women cite their income declining (v. 17% of men), 22% of women cite not being able to afford necessities (v. 13% of men), 18% of women cite falling behind on payment obligations (v. 12% of men) and 15% of women cite having to deprioritize certain debt payments to accommodate others (v. 9% of men).
For many Americans, 2024 will leave much to be desired in terms of financial progress. More than half (54%) of Americans say their financial situation worsened in 2024 and 69% had to put off major financial milestones.
2025 may be the year of financial accountability
Financial progress doesn’t happen overnight, and Americans’ financial journey will vary in the new year. For instance, it might be a shakier start for the roughly one-in-seven (14%) Americans who expect to have $0 in savings heading into the new year, rising to 30% of those with an annual HHI of less than $50k. While the 66% of Americans who say they established money-saving habits in 2024 that they will continue to practice in 2025, might have an easier path forward.
Regardless, most Americans have hesitations entering the new year. More than three quarters (79%) of Americans say they have financial concerns heading into 2025, the most common being the state of the U.S. economy (e.g. cost of living, inflation) (39%), followed by not being able to save money (35%, 45% for those with annual HHI less than $50k), not having an emergency savings fund (29%, 41% for those with annual HHI less than $50k), and facing unexpected expenses (e.g. medical procedure, car breaking down) (29%). Other financial concerns some Americans have include not having enough money saved for retirement (24%), not being able to climb out of debt (22%) and not being able to afford necessities (21%, 31% for those with annual HHI less than $50k).
Financial concerns aside, Americans are not losing sight of their financial goals, and healthier financial habits are on many people’s New Year’s resolution lists. In fact, 69% of Americans say they have clearly defined personal finance goals that they plan to achieve in 2025.
Before consumers build new smart money habits, they’ll look to break the bad ones that did a disservice to their wallets in 2024. Nearly three quarters (73%) of Americans say they are committed to breaking bad financial habits in 2025, the top one being not saving money (34%, 40% of Gen Z), followed by impulse buying (27%, 37% of Gen Z) and not having an emergency fund (26%).
Out with the old, in with the new. The top tactic Americans plan to practice to create healthier financial habits in 2025 is making a budget and sticking to it (44%), followed by focusing on improving their credit (30%) and finding healthier mechanisms than spending to cope with emotions (23%, 37% of Gen Z).
“It’s fairly common to enter a new year with financial regrets,” said Courtney Alev, consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma. “Looking back, there’s always going to be better choices we could have made or purchases we didn’t need, but it’s not productive to continuously dwell on the bad: instead, channel those feelings of regret into motivation to commit to better financial habits in the new year. In fact, our study shows that nearly three quarters of Americans are committed to breaking bad financial habits in 2025. What you’ll likely find is that various people in your life share the same motivation for improving their finances. Become accountability partners and make a plan for how you’re going to get your finances back on track.”
Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Credit Karma from November 25-27, 2024, among 2,092 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact pr@creditkarma.com.