Here are the average American’s biggest money regrets: Don’t let them get to you

A recent bank rate financial regret survey found that 77 percent of US adults had at least one financial regret. (I’m guessing the other 23% just haven’t thought it through enough, because it’s hard to reach adulthood without regretting some money moves you’ve made.) A key regret, expressed by 22% of respondents, it was not saving enough for retirement. .

Interestingly, some of the other regrets also relate to retirement savings. Let’s look at some regrets and see how retirement savings can be boosted.

Image source: Getty Images.

Most people haven’t saved enough for retirement

A slew of surveys have revealed that Americans are saving less for retirement. For example, here are some alarming numbers from the 2024 Retiree Confidence Survey.

Source: 2024 Retirement Confidence Survey.
*excluding the value of a primary home

See? 47% of workers have less than $100,000 and 61% have less than $250,000. Yes, some of them are still quite young. But many of them are in their 40s, 50s and 60s. If you have $250,000, that might seem like a lot, but it might only generate about $10,000 in annual income — if, say, your withdrawal strategy is the 4% rule or something like that.

Remember that you will likely have Social Security benefits in addition to any income you may create on your own, but it may not provide as much as you would like. The average monthly Social Security retirement benefit was just $1,920 in August, after all, worth about $23,000 annually.

You can get a clearer idea of ​​how much you can wait from Social Security by creating a Social Security account on the Social Security Administration (SSA) website. You may also be able to increase your benefits — there are several ways to increase your Social Security benefits.

More financial regrets

Here are some other major financial regrets from that survey:

18% regret not having saved enough for emergency expenses

Every one of us, unless we are financially independent, should have an emergency fund with enough cash readily available to keep us afloat for at least three to six months. That means they should be able to cover everything — housing, utilities, taxes, food, transportation and other non-negotiable expenses.

Without an emergency fund, you could end up taking on expensive debt or taking funds from a retirement account, both of which can jeopardize your future financial security. If you’re busy paying off debt, that money can’t be used to invest in retirement accounts. And if you remove, say, $10,000 from a retirement account, either temporarily or permanently, you lose a few or many years of growth. If that $10,000 could have grown by, say, 8% over 20 years, it could have grown to nearly $47,000 — a pretty useful chunk of retirement income.

14% regret taking on too much credit card debt

Because credit card interest rates — which recently averaged 25%, on LendingTree — tend to be so high, credit card debt can be really dangerous. Imagine you owe $40,000 at an interest rate of just (!) 20%. You’d be on the hook for about $8,000 in interest payments alone each year. That doesn’t even cover the principal payment. It’s hard to save for retirement and build a big nest egg when you’re paying large amounts to lenders.

what can you do

So — what can you do, especially if you’ve fallen behind on retirement savings? Here are some ideas:

• Try to avoid taking on high-interest debt, and if you already have some, try to pay it off immediately.
• Create an emergency fund to protect yourself in case you suffer a job loss or face a costly auto or health expense.
• Save aggressively and invest efficiently (like in a S&P 500 index fund) through a regular, taxable brokerage account, a 401(k) and/or an IRA, among other options.
• Consider working more if you can. Working a few more years than you planned means your nest egg will have to last fewer years and you can build more before you retire. You may also be able to stay in an employer-sponsored health insurance plan longer, potentially saving you money.
• Consider putting off claiming Social Security until age 70 if you can. This won’t work if you simply need the income sooner, but for most of us, age 70 is the best age to claim benefits to maximize them.
• Take a part-time job for the first few years of retirement — or a side job, like making and selling things or teaching music or languages.
• Think outside the box. If you need more income during retirement, you could take out a pension or look into a reverse mortgage.

Don’t leave retirement to chance. Plan your retirement carefully, making sure you also factor in health care costs. Don’t be afraid to consult a financial advisor either. The better you plan, the fewer regrets you will have.