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NEW YORK — Most working Americans have already spent more than half their paycheck before they even get it. This financial balancing act, revealed in a recent survey, shows how millions of workers may be finding themselves counting money they haven’t yet received just to keep up with basic expenses.
A survey of 2,000 employed Americans making less than $75,000 annually shows what happens to the modern paycheck—where it goes, how fast it disappears, and how many people need to plan carefully just to make it through each month.
The poll, conducted by Talker Research and commissioned by EarnIn, found that 59% of Americans map out which bills to pay first while waiting for payday, with 51% of their money already earmarked before it hits their account. This happens mainly because living costs don’t match what people earn (44%) and bill due dates are scattered throughout the month (31%).
Past-due bills are another big reason people count their chickens before they hatch, making up 38% of pre-spent funds. Only 40% of those surveyed keep up with all their bills, while 55% typically juggle between one and four overdue bills every month.
When payday finally arrives, people know exactly where the money needs to go. Housing costs like rent or mortgage payments come first for 56% of respondents, then necessities like food and medicine (51%). Utility bills follow at 38%, with catching up on overdue bills in fourth place at 29%.
Three Days to Empty
The money that does arrive disappears quickly. Americans spend about 43% of their paycheck within just three days of getting it. When you add this to the 51% that’s already spoken for before arrival, very little remains for the rest of the pay period.
This quick drain creates a cycle of stress that most Americans find themselves stuck in. Only 20% of respondents said they don’t run out of money or need to tighten their belt before their next check comes—meaning 80% feel the squeeze as payday approaches.
For those caught short at the end of each pay cycle, the effects hit home: 62% struggle to buy groceries, 30% have trouble paying major bills, another 30% can’t cover smaller bills, and 16% find it hard to afford medicine and make loan payments.
Budget Advice vs. Real Life
The survey compared Americans’ actual spending with the popular 50/30/20 budget rule—which suggests putting 50% toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% into savings. The results show the gap between this advice and what people actually face.
On average, respondents put 64% of their money toward basic needs like food, bills, and housing—far more than the recommended 50%. Meanwhile, “wants” or personal spending gets just 16% of their income, and savings also account for only 16% of the average paycheck.
The savings picture looks even worse on closer inspection. More than half (56%) of those surveyed said less than 10% of their money goes into savings, while 23% couldn’t remember when they last saved 20% as the budget rule suggests.
When money runs low before the next check arrives, Americans use various tactics to get by. Nearly 39% pick up side hustles for extra cash, while 31% ask family for help and 28% turn to credit cards.
Worryingly, 14% of respondents said they have nowhere to turn when they need more money—showing a group of people living with extreme money troubles and no safety net.
Banking on help
Banks, which might seem like obvious helpers in this situation, offer few solutions. Only 5% of respondents can get their paycheck early through their bank, and even fewer (4%) can access early pay through their job.
“In today’s world, employees shouldn’t have to wait days to access the money they’ve already earned,” said an EarnIn spokesperson. “People deserve financial solutions that provide faster access to their pay—regardless of where they bank—so they can manage their money on their own terms, not their bank’s schedule.”
Despite limited help from banks, Americans stay loyal to them for years. The average person has used the same bank for nine years, with 14% reporting relationships lasting between 19 and 20 years.
This loyalty seems based more on habit than benefits. More than half (57%) stay with their bank simply because it feels familiar. Only 20% said they stay because their bank lets them get their money sooner.
Getting out of the paycheck-to-paycheck life
The survey asked how getting paychecks a bit earlier might ease financial pressure. If Americans could get paid up to two days earlier than usual, 34% said they could pay bills on time, and 29% thought they would worry less about money.
Additionally, 19% said earlier access would help them pay rent on time, while 15% could save more. Overall, 56% felt that getting their paycheck up to two days earlier would make them feel more secure about their finances.
For many, the standard two-week or monthly pay cycle creates roadblocks to financial stability, forcing even careful people to make tough choices about which necessities get paid first. This mismatch between when money is earned and when bills come due adds to financial worry.
The gap between budget advice and real spending patterns further shows the money pressures facing working Americans. When nearly two-thirds of income must cover just the basics, building savings becomes much harder.
The findings also raise questions about how employers and banks might either help reduce or accidentally increase these pressures. With so few workers able to access early pay options, there’s room for new approaches in payroll and banking that better fit people’s actual financial lives.
Financial advice often focuses on budgeting skills and personal habits, but this survey suggests that timing issues like pay frequency and bill due dates matter just as much. Solutions that fix these broader issues may work better than putting all the burden on individual choices.
For employers, the data suggests benefits in offering more flexible pay options. If getting wages earlier could reduce stress for over half of employees, the resulting improvements in well-being might make such programs worth implementing.
Similarly, banks might reconsider whether their standard practices truly meet customer needs. With bank loyalty based primarily on familiarity rather than helpful features, banks that solve common problems like payment timing might stand out in a crowded market.
Survey Methodology
The survey was conducted by Talker Research on behalf of EarnIn. It polled 2,000 employed Americans who make less than $75,000 per year. The survey was administered and conducted online between January 24 and January 28, 2025.
Where does Study Finds receive it’s money??? USAID ??? I find the timing of this article very strange , We just ended 4 years of rising costs , seems last year would have been more appropriate for this article , I was paying $3.50 a gallon of gas last year , last week I paid $2.06 !! that put more money in my pocket !
This no lie! I plant $50 1 dollar bills every spring and in the fall I harvest those trees that grow all these dollars! It works I tell you! Just follow my advice and every year you will have a mess of money! Your’s for the picking.
LMAO!
A $500 a month car lease
$300 a month on cable TV
A new $1,000 smartphone every 2 years
A $1000 flat screen TV in every room
2 vacations a year
Jimmy and Jamie in private school
Dinner and drinks out 3 or 4 nights a week
But you struggle to pay your bills and buy groceries.
BWAHAHAHA
The same Apes out there demanding the federal government balance their budgets are in debt to their eyeballs
Money? Define money under the constitution. What we have now is Federal Reserve Notes. Thats not money.
It is, by Federal statute under the Constitution. Gold has yet to recover its loss of value from Columbus’s discovery of the New World.
Where is the responsibility of people to live within their means? Where was it written that so many people had to have a new phone every two years, the biggest screen tv’s new cars, new computers, PS 5’s, Ipads ?
People overextend themselves then look for someone else to blame.
Sure some people are struggling but a ton of people put themselves in these situations.
This study was funded by EarnIn which is a predatory payday loan company. They’ve simply moved from the sketchy retail model to a mobile app where they charge exhorbent fees that hurt the very people this article says needs help. They’ve simply moved the payday forward and you have to pay fees which means even less money to pay the bills.
The answer to move payday up 1-2 days doesn’t fix any thing, in fact it makes the problem worse. You have the same bills to pay, which continue to rise. But you have less money to pay the bills because you paid the fees to get your payday loan. Now when payday comes you only get the small amount left after repaying your payday loan. And you have to pay a transfer fee to even access your remaining money to transfer it to your personal checking account.
StudyFinds says they publish non-biased that are agenda free. But clearly this is driven by EarnIn’s agenda. It wasn’t even a study. The data collection was just from online polls. There was no study providing evidence getting paid 2 days earlier leads to better outcomes.
I don’t understand how getting your paycheck early will help because once you get it early then all subsequent paychecks will be on the same schedule that caused problems.
Very sad that the common person cannot save for themselves. Buy Buy Buy doesn’t get you jack!
Spending until someone has no more is not a financial plan. Get a second job. Save and scrimp. It will work out.
You can request to have your due dates changed to make things easier but if you have no money it won’t make a difference except saving on late charges maybe. The big difference is most people don’ know the difference between a need and a want in this world of instant gratification.
Where was this story 3 years ago?
How is this news? Been this way since forever.
They forgot about the feds stealing at least 15% of everything you make, plus state income tax in most places… all with little or no representation provided for the “donation”. I think that should probably get a big mention.
I’ve always been confused by the programs to get paid a couple days early from your regular payday. How does that really help? If you’re out of money, you’re out of money. You get it two days earlier, you now have money in your pocket before normal payday, but you still have to pay the same bills and you once again run out of money. When the next pay day rolls around, you are just out of money two days sooner. All you’ve done is shift your pay day by two days and still face the same issue you had before.
getting paid earlier does not solve any problems! it is still basic math, you will still have the same amount coming in and going out WTF.
Getting paid earlier can allow you to pay a bill on time and thus avoid extra penalties and fees — ultimately meaning your expenses are lower. A day or two really can make a difference sometimes.
No surprise, really. Today’s “Kids” are not taught Basic Economics because their “parents” weren’t taught it and Public “schools” don’t teach it, preferring Liberal Indoctrination to teaching real-world skills. Today’s “kids” are also too absorbed in their Social Media Accounts, video games, cell phones, and such that they’re not intelligent enough to process “skills data” should they encounter it, nor do they have the “urgency” or “initiative” to even TRY TO LEARN these things.
PRIVATE and HOME SCHOOLED kids, OTOH, have been proven to know “basic life skills”, Economics, and similar things to guarantee success in the “Adult World”. Those people you generally won’t find having the “budgetary, etc.” problems outlined in the article.
Until America’s “education system” returns to the processes and standards that existed BEFORE THE 1970’s, current and future “students” are DOOMED to be ILLITERATE economically, ensuring an ever-increasing “welfare class” composed of functionally “incompetent” and Government-dependent people.
So everyone is an idiot that is being pinched by our current economy? Do they just need to plant a money growing tree? I see your point in a narrow scope, but you are broad brushing too many people and categorizing them as uneducated. Everything is expensive. There’s no wiggle room to mess up even a little bit.
Working for a paycheck means you get what is left over after taxes and medical insurance costs.
Don’t spend it all in one place
And this is news since when?