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It’s easy, and fairly common, to feel like you’re lagging behind everyone else when it comes to finances.
Fifty-three percent of Americans surveyed by Navigator in July said they feel behind where they thought they would be financially [1]. An identical majority (53%) expressed uneasiness with their personal financial situation over the next few months, with a quarter also saying they are “very” uneasy (26%). With the gloomy outlook on jobs and the economy, coupled with stubborn inflation, it’s easy to see why Americans are jittery.
But the threshold for the top 50% by certain financial parameters is surprisingly low. It doesn’t take much to put yourself in a better position than around half the country’s adults. In fact, if you can check off just one of the three boxes below, you’re already in the top half or close to it by some measure.
Here’s a closer look.
As of 2025, a whopping 57% of American adults say they are living paycheck to paycheck, according to MarketWatch Guides [2]. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise that younger Americans are more likely to live like this. Sixty-five percent of millennials and 72% of Gen Z Americans said they fit into this category.
“Living paycheck to paycheck means having little to no money remaining after paying for basic expenses such as rent and utilities,” said MarketWatch. “Someone living paycheck to paycheck would be at risk of not being able to pay bills or afford necessities if they missed a single payday. Living paycheck to paycheck can make it difficult to build an emergency fund, save for the future or splurge occasionally.”
In other words, if you can manage to save even a little money at the end of every month — whether by cutting back on expenses or boosting income — you’ll be ahead of more than half of the country’s population. If you’re young and saving money, congratulations, you’re in an elite group of financial ninjas!
To join this group — if you haven’t already — you may think you need to get a big promotion or even change careers. However, you can start to get a handle on your finances simply by creating a manageable budget and sticking to it. One of the best ways to do this is with a tracker app, like Monarch Money.
This financial management platform offers an all-in-one tool to help you track investments, spending and budgeting, and even offers personalized advice so you can feel confident about your money.
You can also feel confident about sharing your financial data with Monarch Money — the app is protected by Plaid for secure data integration, and employs multi-factor authentication at login, so you can keep your accounts safe.
Download the app now for a seven-day free trial. After that, you can get 50% off your first year with the code WISE50.
If you have a budget but can’t seem to find room in it for extra savings, consider making your spare change go farther with Acorns.
Acorns is an automated investing and saving platform that simplifies the process of setting aside extra funds.
When you sign up and link your bank account, Acorns automatically rounds up the price of each of your purchases to the nearest dollar. The difference goes into a smart investment portfolio, allowing you to grow your wealth without even thinking about it.
Plus, you can get a $20 bonus investment when you sign up for Acorns with a recurring deposit.
It’s perfectly natural to worry about money from time to time. Even billionaires probably worry about taxes or stock market crashes. But if you’re worrying about finances frequently, it could be a bright red flag.
Astonishingly, 52% of Americans surveyed by Ramsey Solutions in June 2025 said they worry about their finances on a daily basis [3]. Also, 34% of Americans are losing sleep over money.
That’s the harsh reality for many Americans. But if your finances are stable enough to allow you to forget about money issues occasionally, consider yourself lucky. You’re doing better — both financially and psychologically — than half the nation.
You can get your finances on a more stable track — and get better sleep — by speaking with a pre-screened advisor about your money concerns.
Advisor.com’s platform can connect you with a fiduciary advisor that best suits your retirement goals. They vet every partner on their platform, and it’s easy to get matched with advisors in your area, too.
How it works is simple: Just input some basic information like your ZIP code and financial goals. From here, Advisor.com will pair you with between one and three advisors. You can then set up a free, no-obligation consultation to see if they’re the right fit for you.
Given that most Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck and worrying about their finances daily, it shouldn’t be surprising that many are also struggling to secure their future financial needs.
According to a poll by Gallup, 59% of Americans have at least some money saved in a retirement account, either alone or with a spouse [4]. However, younger Americans are far less likely to have such savings. Only 39% of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 said they have money invested in a retirement savings plan.
So, if you have even a modest nest egg set aside, you’re probably doing better than 41% of Americans, and if you’re saving for retirement before the age of 29, you’re outperforming six out of ten peers.
Protecting your nest egg is also important, and ensuring your investments are diversified outside of the stock market is an excellent way to do that. Gold is historically a great inflation hedge, and it’s an asset that’s experiencing record highs.
A self-directed Gold IRA set up with help from Thor Metals may be a good long-term option for your savings. This individual retirement account allows you to invest in gold and benefit from the tax advantages of an IRA.
Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, which combines the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to potentially hedge their retirement funds against inflation and economic uncertainties.
To learn more, you can get a free information guide that includes details on how to get up to $20,000 in free metals on qualifying purchases.
If you check even one of the boxes mentioned above, you’re doing better than most or many Americans. If you check all three, you’re meeting the bare minimum for financial success. However, to improve your chances of success, you need to go above and beyond these basic requirements.
Maximize the amount of money you save every month, switch jobs or pay for education to boost income, minimize or completely eliminate expensive consumer debt and invest strategically for the long-term. Just because you’re in a better position than 50% of Americans doesn’t mean you shouldn’t aim higher for the top 10%.
[2]. MarketWatch Guides. “57% of Americans Live Paycheck to Paycheck in 2025”
[3]. Ramsey Solutions. “The State of Personal Finance in America Q2 2025”
[4]. Gallup. “What Percentage of Americans Have a Retirement Savings Account?”
This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: You’re doing better than around 50% of Americans if you check off just 1 of these 3 boxes. How do you stack up?
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
