Most Americans mentally spend their paycheck before they get it: How to avoid paycheck stress

Moneywise

Mon, Jul 14, 2025, 3:47 AM 6 min read

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A survey conducted by Talker Research on behalf of EarnIn found that the average American has already mentally spent more than half of their paycheck before it lands in their bank account.

The survey polled 2,000 employed Americans who make less than $75,000 per year and found that the typical American spends about 43% of their paycheck within the first three days after receiving it, in addition to the roughly 51% that’s pre-spent mentally.

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In fact, only 20% of those surveyed don't run out of money or otherwise have to live on a tight budget in the days leading up to their next check. Worse yet, 56% of respondents said that less than 10% of their pay goes into savings.

If you’re not saving as much as you should be, it may be time for some changes. Here are a few to consider.

According to a Harris Poll, 74% of Americans have a monthly budget. That’s good news. But, 84% of those with a monthly budget tend to exceed it. That's not so good.

This is why it’s not enough to just have a budget. It needs to be realistic. One of the best ways to create a budget that suits your lifestyle is to track all your spending.

From there, you can decide which things are most important to you based on your values, and which costs you can cut down on.

One area you may want to trim is insurance spending — and many Americans may not realize that shopping around can save hundreds of dollars a year. Comparing prices and plans is even easier with OfficialHomeInsurance.com.

In under 2 minutes, OfficialHomeInsurance.com helps you browse offers tailored to your needs from over 200 reputable insurance companies. Best of all? It’s free.

Simply fill in a bit of information about yourself and you can quickly find the coverage you need —  saving you on average $482 a year.

While you’re saving money on home insurance, you may also want to optimize your auto insurance coverage. OfficialCarInsurance.com helps you instantly sort through the best policies from car insurance providers in your area, including trusted names like Progressive, GEICO and Allstate.