1 in 3 Americans couldn’t cover one month’s bills: As of 2025, about one-third of U.S. households said they could not cover their bills for even one month if they lost their income
https://upperclasscareer.com/4-popular-effective-budgeting-strategies-explained/
Posted by Spectexh
7 Comments
1 in 3 Americans can’t budget properly then.
I grew up poor as hell. Was homeless for a while. But even when I was just barely scraping by I managed to live well within my means. Those means didn’t go far so I didn’t do anything that cost money. Didn’t drive, didn’t eat expensive food, never went out to eat, and even quit smoking and drinking (mostly) because I couldn’t afford it. My life sucked, but the reality was I couldn’t afford anything extra. So I went without.
The people who live paycheck to paycheck often don’t make that hard choices. Because no matter how little you earn, it is possible to live within your means. You may be homeless and that sucks, but that is simply the reality of the situation.
Edit: I am always amazed at the downvotes on this topic. People refuse to take responsibility for their situations. Which goes a long way towards explaining why they are one paycheck away from disaster all the time.
Primed for a crazy domino effect of debt defaults upon unemployment ….. the effects of which will spread upward. The economy is dependent on regular people having income.
How are people doing THAT bad? After reading the article it’s just like, how can they go on with their life’s like this?
These results must be from targeted audiences I can’r believe adults would go into so much debt
Not surprising, this isnt something new but it is getting worse due to tariffs
Most people dont make financially intelligent choices, buying newish non japanese cars, paying a premium to have their own apt instead of having roommates, ordering doordash instead of cooking, having babies they arent in a situation to provide proper care for
Its a common theme in finance subs when people talk about their debt
Escaping poverty is possible, but it requires frugality, determination and maturity
I’d be really curious to see the distribution of incomes making this claim. It’s easy to assume it’s low income households but I’d reckon there are quite a few middle class types with high mortgages, student loans, and two car payments who would fall into this category.
Anyway here are the various stats for those skipping the article:
>1 in 3 Americans couldn’t cover one month’s bills.About one-third of U.S. households said they could not cover their bills for even one month if they lost their income . A figure that rises to 38 % among Gen Z and 41 % among millennials. (Source: Bankrate 2025 Emergency Savings Report)
>Only 46 % of adults say they have enough emergency savings to cover three months of expenses, while 24 % report having none at all.(Source: Bankrate, 2025)
>59 % of Americans do not have enough funds to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense. (Source: CBS News, 2025)
>57 % of adults now say paying regular bills is their biggest financial concern—surpassing inflation and debt. (Source: Nasdaq, 2025)
A 2025 report found that 33 % of respondentswould run out of money within a month if their primary income stopped. (Source: Yahoo Finance, 2025)
Yea that’s why everyone refused to vote for democrats poverty wages. 1 in 3 Americans cant afford their bills on $15/hr and those fucking morons tried to pay those same people $15/hr and then got offended when they abstained.
Best country in the world, so technologically advanced…and yet played for fools by aristocrats as mankind always has been and may always be.