The Causes

Ignoring the small stuff

The average American pays $237 a month for subscription services, according to a 2019 report from West Monroe Partners. Yet 84% of these consumers underestimated the total they spent every month on these fees, and only 6% estimated their total spend correctly. (Wi-Fi, mobile service, Netflix, Spotify, Birchbox, Dollar Shave Club, GoDaddy, PlayStation Now, iCloud, Fitbit, etc.)

Misdirected love of family

Almost 65% of parents with children under 18 said they would be fine with adding to their card debt during the holiday season and more than half (56%) said that it was fine to do so, according to a poll conducted by CreditCards.com.

Not focusing on key goals

According to the latest survey from the COUNTRY Financial Security Index®, prospective homebuyers delay buying because they struggle to save up enough for a down payment. In fact, 46% of millennials and 40% of Americans overall cited affording a down payment as the greatest financial barrier to homeownership.

Keeping up with the Joneses

The Charles Schwab’s 2019 Modern Wealth Index survey found that 48% of millennials spend more money than they can afford to participate in experiences with friends and 49% were influenced by social media to spend money on experiences.

Holiday spending euphoria

Holiday shoppers racked up an average of $1,325 of debt in 2019, according to an annual survey conducted by Magnify Money. This study also found that Gen Xers added the most debt, charging an average of $2,076.

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