Stats That Would Make Our Founding Fathers Cringe

Happy Presidents Day!

Here are a bunch of financial stats I’ve been saving up that would shock our founding fathers right up from out of their graves, haha…

All that freedom they fought for, and what do we do with it all?? Spend it accumulating more junk and getting those shackles right back on us!

Treasonous!

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“43.3% of Americans have less than $500 set aside for a financial emergency”MyBankTracker.com

:(

“14.5% of Americans don’t even know what an emergency fund is.” – MyBankTracker.com

:( :(

“Americans are dying with an average of $62,000 of debt”CBSNews.com

:( :( :(

“Traditional burials average $7,360 and two-thirds of Americans have not taken the steps to detail their final arrangements”National Funeral Directors Association

Yeah, BECAUSE THEY CAN’T AFFORD TO DIE!

“Two-thirds of pet parents would buy a portrait, blanket or article of clothing with their dogs face on it.”Rover.com

And exactly why those stats up there are facts, haha….

“43% of dog lovers would consider signing their dog up for doga (dog yoga).” – Rover.com

Okay I lied, this would be the reason 😱

doga - dog yoga(Photo by ErharYaksaa on the Doga Wikipedia page… It’s a real thing!)

“26% of people admit to hiding debt from their partner”LendingClub.com

But on the positive side, the same study showed over a quarter of people surveyed said they’d “rather date someone who has NEVER owned a credit card, than someone who has moderate credit card debt ($1k – $10k).” That’s interesting! I wonder how big that pool of people is though who’s never had a card before?? Most would be in Generation Z, right?

“57% of Americans say that finances are preventing them from checking things off their bucket lists”ProvisionLiving.com

(Well duh!)

“The average amount of money people are willing to spend on a bucket list item – $3,801” – ProvisionLiving.com

Okay, that’s more interesting :)

“The top financial bucket list goals – 1. Pay off debt 2. Pay off mortgage 3. Retire early 4. Save for child’s tuition 5. Donate to charity 6. Buy a home.” – ProvisionLiving.com

Those aren’t bucket lists – those are financial goals! Haha… Though I’m not hating on them!

“Nearly 1 in 3 Americans think “Bigfoot” being real is more likely than retiring comfortably”AARP

Okay, well we all know Bigfoot is legit, but retiring?? That one’s so much easier to get than bigfoot! :)

bigfoot gif

“A burglary occurs every 13 seconds, and 34% of burglars will enter a home through the front door.” –  SafeAtLast.co

So pretty much, about 15 robberies have happened since you’ve been reading this post, womp womp…

“According to the FBI, the average value lost per burglary is $2,416” –  SafeAtLast.co

That seems low? No? Though I guess a robber would be pretty hard pressed to find anything in my house worth over $300 (TV), haha… unless they find my coin collection (*gasp*!)

“Nearly 60 percent of investors ages 18 to 34 say they already have taken money from their retirement account”E-Trade Financial

ACK!! That’s the #1 no-no in the Hand Book of Investing! Convert it to cash or make trades ’till the cows come home, but for the love of all wealth – don’t remove it from the account!

“1/3 of LGBTQ people in the US admit taking out a Payday Loan” – OverdraftApps.com

That sucks, but did you know we actually have a handful of great LGBTQ $$$ bloggers in our community? One of my favorites is DebtFreeGuys.com, and I’m hoping they’ll accept my request of putting together a comprehensive *list* for others to quickly find as well :) We have such a talented – and diverse – group of people in our financial community here. It’s really incredible!

“On average, people have six past late payments on their credit report.”LendingTree.com

I probably did too in my 20s, but proud to say there hasn’t been a ding on there the last few times I’ve ran it ;) Which you can do for FREE at any time, btw, by going to AnnualCreditReport.com (sounds spammy, but it’s for real!).

“Men are nearly 2.5 times (over 17% compared to 7%) more likely to be scammed than women.”

That’s because us men aren’t as smart as women :)

all the single ladies

*** But there are some GOOD things happening too! ***

“95% of borrowers in the 100 metros we reviewed are paying their bills on time.”LendingTree.com

Work it, America!

62% of shoppers say that they have used coupon apps or deal sites to find deals when they shop.Ting.com

One of the best habits you can get into! I’ve found countless coupons from $1.00 off to $100 off over the years with a simple 5 second search on Google… And pair that with the browser extension, Honey, and often times you don’t even have to bother yourself as it’ll automatically find them for you!

“59% of America has already cut the cord”WaterstoneGroup.com

It’s a beautiful thing!! We’re on year #3 ourselves of being cable-free and haven’t missed it an ounce… Though we do cheat and have bunny ears, as well as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon prime for instant streaming ;) You take those away and I’ll def. miss it, haha…

“People who live west of the Rockies are the most likely to repay their credit card debt on time” – LendingTree.com

Random, but awesome!

The top 3 states to retire early: #1. South Dakota, #2. Kentucky, #3. MontanaSmartAdvisorMatch.com

No Colorado??? King of the FIRE bloggers?

“Alabama is the best state in the US for financially savvy over 55s.” – Stannah-Stairlifts.com

*Makes calendar item 16 years in the future to remind myself*

“Top Cities to Pay off Credit Card Debt: #1. Tacoma, WA, #2. Bakersfield, CA, #3. Fort Worth, TX”SmartAsset.com

I will never in 100 years move to Fort Worth, but God bless you and your credit card skills!

“Financially secure people workout 46% more”CometFi.com

Looks like I finally made it then – score!!  Three months in a row now running consistently and will have to make sure and never stop if it means going broke again, haha…

Run, J. Money, RUN!!!!!

forrest gump running gif

*****

And that’s it for this round…

Print these nuggets out and make sure to recite them at your Presidents Day galas tonight! That Bigfoot one never disappoints!

For further statistical enjoyment:

#KThxBye

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23 Comments

  1. Jessy February 18, 2019 at 7:45 AM

    Woohoo! I won the book “Work Optional”! Hoping to make work optional very soon! Thank you, J$!

    1. J. Money February 18, 2019 at 8:03 AM

      Haha no problem! You’ll have to let us know the day you pull the cord! ;)

  2. Jacq February 18, 2019 at 7:52 AM

    “Nearly 60 percent of investors ages 18 to 34 say they already have taken money from their retirement account”
    I wonder if this includes moving it from a 401k to IRA / new 401k when changing jobs, vs just raiding a 401k?
    That could be hopeful thinking that things are that dire.

    1. J. Money February 18, 2019 at 8:03 AM

      I hope you’re right, but something tells me that isn’t the case ;)

  3. Seek The Financial Truth February 18, 2019 at 8:09 AM

    And 34.5% don’t have any emergency savings! I’m guessing their plan is to put it all on a credit card?
    Thanks for the great read J$,
    TJ

    1. J. Money February 18, 2019 at 10:50 AM

      Glad you liked!

  4. G February 18, 2019 at 8:16 AM

    You’d be surprised about the not credit cards. My husband didn’t have a credit card or any credit when we first started dating. I taught him about all of it. Lol

    1. J. Money February 18, 2019 at 10:52 AM

      You taught him about it in theory right, not practice?! ;)

  5. COD February 18, 2019 at 8:50 AM

    “But on the positive side, the same study showed over a quarter of people surveyed said they’d “rather date someone who has NEVER owned a credit card”

    Note to self – register debtfreedating.com and built dating app based on matching people by debt load and credit score.

    1. Rachel February 18, 2019 at 9:55 AM

      That actually sounds pretty awesome! How nice, to find someone compatible and know up front if their financial habits matched yours!

      I’ve wasted plenty of dates going out with people who eventually turned out to have super bad financial habits that immediately turned me off.

      1. J. Money February 18, 2019 at 10:53 AM

        Haha yup – I second that.

        They have dating sites for allllll kinds of super niches – why not finance?

        UPDATE: I checked my archives here as I could have *sworn* I’ve seen $$$ dating sites before, and sure enough I have! Check it! haha… –> https://www.creditscoredating.com/

  6. Rachel February 18, 2019 at 9:53 AM

    “The top 3 states to retire early: #1. South Dakota, #2. Kentucky, #3. Montana”

    Can’t say this for sure for SD and MT, but I’m from KY and I bet the #1 reason for retiring early is the cost of living is SUPER low.

    For instance, take Louisville, KY (my hometown) and compare to DC. I currently make $85K as an engineer. According to CNN’s cost of living calculator, I would need to make $143K in DC to be comparable.

    So even though CO may be King of FIRE bloggers, that may be part of why it’s not in the top 3! Some areas in CO are cheaper, for sure, but for my salary in KY, I’d need $103K in Denver.

    Also: SD and MT’s winters are HORRIBLE, y’all. Who would want to go outside in winter? No one. Thus, you save money!

    1. J. Money February 18, 2019 at 10:57 AM

      Hahaha… I’ll take your word on all of that and not try and find out for myself ;)

  7. Brian February 18, 2019 at 9:58 AM

    I crushed that average when I got broken into 15 years ago! Wait that’s not a good thing, but having renter’s insurance was.

    These are some eye opening facts

    1. J. Money February 18, 2019 at 10:58 AM

      insurance – the one thing you pay for but never want to use!

  8. Revanche @ A Gai Shan Life February 18, 2019 at 10:01 AM

    More than a few of the Founding Fathers would be part of those stats though! :) Jefferson and Washington, for different reasons, at the very least.

    We have some things WE think are valuable in the sense that it would cost real money to replace if stolen but they wouldn’t be worth anything if a burglar tried to resell them. (Hear that? Steer clear of our place!)

    1. J. Money February 18, 2019 at 11:03 AM

      Haha that is certainly true of Jefferson – he had so much debt when he died! Or even when he was alive for that matter! But I’ll give him a pass for contributing so mightily to our nation’s future ;)

  9. Joe February 18, 2019 at 10:39 AM

    Wow, crazy stats. I wonder if they’re accurate.
    I like this one.
    Americans are dying with an average of $62,000 of debt
    I guess the banks are writing off most of these. It goes to show you how much money the banks are making if they can keep writing these debts off…

    1. J. Money February 18, 2019 at 11:05 AM

      True that! And I’m sure a lot of the debts are on properties like houses, cars, etc too which of course can be liquidated to help settle the debts.

  10. Steph February 18, 2019 at 11:32 AM

    Why not Fort Worth? I love it here lol!

    1. J. Money February 18, 2019 at 12:55 PM

      I don’t think I’ll be allowed to come back after writing that, haha…

  11. David February 18, 2019 at 4:09 PM

    Challenge accepted Mr. Money. We will be working on the list of LGBTQ bloggers over the next few weeks. ;) There are a few broad topic bloggers like us, such as OhMyDollar.com and QueerFI.com and then we have specific ones like Sal El of SimplyInsurance.com and David Rae of FinancialPlannerLA.com.

    We’re on it.

    1. J. Money February 19, 2019 at 9:46 AM

      Thank you, kindly!! I think people will find it super helpful over the years! Especially if you keep adding to it!