Boomers Confess Their 6 Worst Money Habits

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The financial habits people develop during childhood and in their young adult years often follow them throughout the course of their lives. This is true of any generation, including boomers — that is, anyone born between 1946 and 1964.

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While some money-related habits are good, others aren’t. GOBankingRates conducted a financial literacy survey and spoke with several people in the boomer generation about their worst money habits. These are boomers’ worst money habits and some key survey results.

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Overreliance on Credit Cards and Living Beyond Their Means

Like many people, boomers struggle with an overreliance on credit cards and living beyond their means. These are habits that can develop in childhood or in early adulthood.

According to the survey, 31% of younger boomers and 24% of older boomers learned to rely on credit cards during their childhood. About 34% of younger boomers and 37% of older boomers learned this bad money habit in their young adult years.

Around a quarter of boomers learned to live beyond their means in childhood as well. And while fewer individuals picked up this habit in young adulthood, it was still fairly prevalent amongst older boomers. In fact, 21% of respondents said this was their worst money habit.

“One of the worst money habits common among Boomers is living beyond their means,” said Loretta Kilday, a spokesperson at Debt Consolidation Care.

“Many Boomers grew up in a time of prosperity and economic growth which may have led to a sense of financial invincibility. This mindset sometimes resulted in overspending on credit cards, luxury items or maintaining a lifestyle that exceeded their income.”

Not Creating a Budget

Creating a household budget is important to understanding one’s personal finances and working toward long-term financial goals and stability. But it’s not something everyone learns to do.

According to the survey, around 28% of boomers weren’t taught the importance of having a budget during their childhood. This percentage barely drops in young adulthood with 26% of respondents saying that was still a weak point for them.

This isn’t to say that boomers didn’t learn to budget later on. It just might have taken some of them longer to get there.

“Changing poor money habits often requires a shift in mindset and a commitment to financial education and discipline,” said Kilday. “Many Boomers who have successfully improved their financial habits started by creating a budget to track income and expenses.”

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Not Investing

Investing is one of the best ways to build long-term wealth, but many people either don’t know how to get started or are afraid of the level of risk involved.

For boomers, more than a quarter of them said one of their worst money habits was not investing or learning to invest from an early age. Between a quarter and a third of boomers said they still weren’t investing even after reaching adulthood.

“Some Boomers may have been overly conservative with their investments [by] keeping too much money in low-yield savings accounts or bonds,” said Kilday.

“Others may have been too aggressive chasing high returns through risky investments. A lack of financial literacy and planning could have contributed to these habits, leaving some Boomers ill-prepared for market fluctuations and economic downturns.”

Not Prioritizing Saving

Learning to save money is also vital to achieving financial stability. It’s right up there with having an emergency fund and investing smartly.

But for many boomers, this wasn’t something they learned growing up. Around 35% of younger boomers and 37% of older boomers said they didn’t learn to prioritize saving money during childhood. About a third of boomers said this is a bad habit they picked up during their early adult years.

Unfortunately, not prioritizing saving money can be hugely detrimental to long-term success and even one’s ability to retire as planned.

“Some boomers may have neglected to save adequately for retirement believing that Social Security or pensions would provide sufficient income,” said Kilday.

Not Building an Emergency Fund

An emergency fund is a separate amount of money meant for emergencies — like medical bills or an unexpected layoff at work. It’s meant to provide a financial buffer against these unplanned expenses so that the individual or family doesn’t have to stress about something happening.

One of the worst money habits boomers confessed to having is not building an emergency fund. Just over 36% of younger boomers said they picked up this habit during either childhood or young adulthood. Around a third of older boomers said the same.

Impulsive Shopping

Without a budget, it’s all too easy to succumb to temptation and buy things impulsively. This is especially tough for those who have a fear of missing out — FOMO.

“Although FOMO wasn’t an actual acronym when I was growing up, it was still a thing,” said David Bakke, financial expert and boomer at DollarSanity.

“I vividly remember thinking that I had to have a Walkman radio when it first came out, and that I couldn’t live without a cellphone when those came onto the landscape.”

The survey found that 34% of younger boomers learned to impulse shop as children, while only 26% of older boomers said the same. This bad money habit didn’t stop there. Nearly a third of younger boomers and a quarter of older boomers began impulse shopping as young adults.

“Remember one thing if you’re experiencing FOMO now,” continued Bakke. “You’ve survived this far without it, and it probably won’t be the end of the world if you don’t give in to the temptation.”

Poor Money Habits Can Even Affect Your Relationships

GOBankingRates also asked boomers to indicate which poor money habits have most affected their relationships or marriages. Here are the main ones:

• Using credit cards too much to buy things — 17% of younger boomers and 18% of older boomers
• Not prioritizing saving money — 13% younger boomers and 11% of older boomers
• Impulse shopping — 13% of younger boomers and 11% of older boomers
• Not building an emergency fund — 13% of boomers of all ages
• Living beyond their means — 11% of younger boomers and 13% of older boomers

Other poor money habits, like not investing or caving to lifestyle inflation, had a smaller impact on relationships.

Methodology: GOBankingRates surveyed 1,008 Americans aged 18 and older from across the country between March 26 and April 1, 2024, asking twenty different questions: (1) Has a lack of financial literacy caused you to struggle with your money?; (2) Which current money hot topic is most confusing to you?; (3) Which money expert do you trust most for teaching you the basics of money?; (4) Since the pandemic started in 2020, do you think you have become smarter about your money?; (5) What poor money habits did you learn during your childhood? (select all that apply); (6) What poor money habits did you develop in your early adult years? (select all that apply); (7) What poor money habits have had an impact on your marriage/partnership? (select all that apply); (8) What poor money habits do you worry about passing on to your kids? (select all that apply); (9) What aspect of buying a car do you find most challenging/confusing?; (10) What aspect of buying a house do you find most challenging/confusing?; (11) What aspect of paying off debt do you find most challenging/confusing?; (12) What concerns you most about planning for retirement?; (13) What best describes your feelings about investing?; (14) How much have you saved in the last year?; (15) How much debt have you acquired in the last year, not including mortgage debt?; (16) Do you currently bring in enough money to cover your bills?; (17) How much do you think about your financial status?; (18) What best describes your feelings about managing your money?; (19) What is your monthly car payment?; and (20) How much income do you think is needed for a middle-class family to live comfortably?. GOBankingRates used PureSpectrum’s survey platform to conduct the poll.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Boomers Confess Their 6 Worst Money Habits