Making a budget is extremely important. It gives you a greater understanding of how far your income can go and allows you to plan out exactly how you use your money. It can also help you be more mindful of saving and investing while limiting unnecessary purchases. That said, creating a budget and sticking to it takes time and effort, and the current economic situation hasn’t made things any easier.
Around 83% of Americans with a budget cite increasing costs as the biggest challenge they currently face when trying to stick to a budget, according to a new WalletHub survey. The nationally-representative survey asked about a variety of topics related to budgeting, from when it should be taught to what people do when they go over budget.
Key Stats
- Better Than Politicians: 95% of Americans think they’re better at budgeting than the federal government.
- Budgeting for a Better Year: More than 4 in 5 Americans say that budgeting better is one of their top priorities for 2026.
- Budgeting Belongs in Classrooms: 97% of people think budgeting should be taught in high school.
- Inflation Hits Household Budgets: 83% of Americans with a budget say increasing costs are the biggest challenge they currently face when trying to stick to a budget.
- Overspending Comes With Consequences: 47% of people with a budget say they penalize themselves when they go over their budget.
- Budget Tools at Work: 82% of people think more employers should offer budgeting tools to employees for free.
Full Survey & Responses
| Do you stick to a budget? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 84% |
| No | 16% |
| What is the biggest challenge you currently face when trying to stick to a budget? (select all that apply) | |
| Increasing costs | 76% |
| Unexpected expenses | 57% |
| Not enough income | 38% |
| Organizational issues | 18% |
| If you go over your budget, how do you cover your extra expenses? | |
| Take money from savings | 57% |
| Use a credit card | 34% |
| Borrow from friends or family | 9% |
| Should budgeting be taught in high school? | |
| Yes | 97% |
| No | 3% |
| Do you penalize yourself when you go over your budget? | |
| No | 52% |
| Yes | 48% |
| Is budgeting better one of your top priorities for 2026? | |
| Yes | 81% |
| No | 19% |
| Do you feel better about yourself when you stick to a budget? | |
| Yes | 92% |
| No | 8% |
| Should more employers offer budgeting tools to employees for free? | |
| Yes | 82% |
| No | 18% |
| Who’s better at budgeting: you or the federal government? | |
| Me | 95% |
| Federal government | 5% |
| Is budgeting easier with an app that automatically syncs your transactions? | |
| Yes | 68% |
| No | 32% |
Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.
Survey Methodology
This report reflects the results of a nationally representative online survey of 200 respondents. After we collected all responses, we normalized the data by gender and income so that the sample would reflect U.S. demographics.
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