Your daily adult tube feed all in one place!
Americans reveal their biggest money regrets - and the 2 forces that are stopping them fixing their finances
The majority of Americans have financial regrets, according to a revealing new study.
But some regrets loom larger than others, with two in five people regretting two common financial mistakes, according to Bankrate's Financial Regret Survey.
The most common regret cited by those surveyed was not saving for retirement sooner, which 22 percent of people named.
Not saving enough for emergencies was the second most common financial regret, the survey found.
'Regrets about not saving for retirement early enough loom larger the closer those golden years become,' Bankrate Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride said of the findings.
The majority, 77 percent, of Americans have at least one financial regret
'We saw a very steady increase in those regrets with age,' he added.
Indeed, only five percent of Gen Z respondents said they regretted not saving for retirement early enough, with the number increasing to 14 percent for millennials, 26 percent for Gen X, and 37 percent for boomers.
The second most common financial regret revealed by the study was not saving enough for emergencies.
Some 18 percent of Americans told the survey they regretted not having a sufficient emergency fund to deal with the unexpected.
'Regret about emergency savings ranks really high every year, so it's keeping with the American tradition of not being particularly good on the saving side,' McBride said.
What's more, 40 percent of those with a financial regret told the survey that they haven't made any progress on their regret over the last 12 months.
And the most common reason given for not being able to save for retirement or into an emergency fund was high prices driven by inflation.
While the annual rate of inflation has dropped from the 40-year high seen in June 2022, it is still above the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target.
The second most common reason people gave was their employment situation - which may include factors such as how much they are being paid or if they are unemployed.
McBride cautioned that although the majority of Americans have a financial regret, it is not too late to make positive changes.
The most common regret is not saving for retirement early enough
Bankrate's Greg McBride cautioned that although the majority of Americans have a financial regret, it is not too late to make positive changes
Some 44 percent of those surveyed said they had made some progress on their regret over the last twelve months and 16 percent reported having made significant progress.
McBride advised younger Americans to enroll in their company's retirement scheme and make automatic contributions.
He also recommended making an automated payment from a checking account into a savings account to begin building up an emergency fund.
Making these small changes can stave off financial regret down the road, he advised.
'You can work toward both goals simultaneously,' he said.
'Automating it means you're paying yourself first, and you've automated both of those before you even roll out of bed in the morning.'