Affirm co-founder and CEO Max Levchin told “The Craman Countdown” that the company is “doing very well.”
Saving for retirement is important, with 22% of U.S. adults reporting that not starting this habit earlier is their biggest financial regret.
That's what Bankrate reported. Recently published studies The YouGov poll, conducted July 16-18 with a non-probability-based sample of 2,355 American adults, looked more broadly and found that 77% have some form of financial regret.
At 22%, regret about not starting to save for retirement earlier is the financial regret that weighs most heavily on Americans, according to the survey.
Number of 401(K) millionaires hits record high
Bankrate said the issue emerged as the top financial regret in “six of the seven years of the study.”
Someone puts money into a retirement piggy bank. (iStock/iStock)
Earlier this year, the amount Americans believe they need to retire “comfortably” was $1.46 million, according to a Northwestern Mutual report.
According to an April report, American adults have saved an average of $88,400 so far for retirement, meaning they have an average of $1.37 million left to reach the “magic” amount at retirement age.
The 'magic number' for comfortable retirement hits all-time high
Meanwhile, Bankrate noted that while not as big as retirement savings, not saving enough for an emergency fund and having too much credit card debt were also major regrets, with double-digit percentages of American adults ranking them as their top financial regrets.
According to the survey, 18% chose the former as their “greatest” answer, while a slightly smaller 14% chose the latter.
Serious mature couple calculating bills to pay, checking household finances, managing middle aged family, planning budget and expenses, grey haired man and woman reading bank loan documents at home. (iStock/iStock)
Too much student loan debt, not saving enough for their children's education, and buying a home beyond their means are financial worries for 5%, 4%, and 2% of American adults, respectively. For the other 12% who have financial regrets, it's “something else” that makes them feel worst, according to Bankrate.
The survey found that just under two-thirds of Americans with financial regrets are working to improve the situations that cause them regret, and report making “some” or “a lot” of progress in the past year.
Meanwhile, 40% saw no progress.
Respondents identified a variety of things that hindered their efforts to address financial regrets in the past 12 months.
For 45% of Americans with financial regrets, inflation and high prices are the biggest obstacle to progress, according to Bankrate — 27 percentage points higher than employment status, cited by 18%. High interest rates, family relationships and other factors also pose challenges, the survey found.
A young woman with braided hair is sitting by the table and looking at her smartphone. She pays bills over the phone and checks her financial situation through a phone app. Millennials are using new and improved ways of handling money. Everything can be done on the phone. (iStock/iStock)
“Don't expect prices to come down overnight,” Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate, said in a statement about the high prices. “While inflation is moderating, prices aren't falling, they're just rising at a slower pace.”
Inflation rises to less-than-expected 2.9% in July
In July, the latest month for which data is available, inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% month-on-month and 2.9% year-on-year.
While most Americans have financial regrets, Bankrate's survey found that 18% have no regrets.
Megan Henney contributed to this report.
