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Worried about your financial situation? You’re in good company. PYMNTS Intelligence’s Paycheck-to-Paycheck index hit a new high of 68.4% in May. Whether it’s due to persistent inflation, rising housing costs or the impact of tariffs, more Americans than ever—684 out of every 1,000—are walking a financial tightrope, watching their monthly paycheck rapidly dwindle as it’s used to cover essential payments (and splurges). What’s more, the group of people who struggle to pay their bills climbed for the third-straight month, reaching 24.2% of all consumers.

Our latest survey reveals that amid this pocketbook stress, six in ten consumers feel uncomfortable when thinking about their finances. The good news is that there’s an antidote for at least some of that angst. Specialized budgeting apps and advanced personal finance tools can’t magically send extra dollars to your bank account, but they can help consumers stay worry-free and financially stable, especially during difficult times. Yet even though they can unlock “extra” dollars currently going toward wasteful or inefficient spending, consumers woefully underutilize them.

Among the respondents with trouble making ends meet, more than half who use specialized, advanced budgeting tools, such as Intuit’s Credit Karma (which absorbed Mint last year), YNAB (You Need a Budget) or any of the dozens of others out there, said they feel financially comfortable. Meanwhile, just 12% of those who use only rudimentary personal finance tools—and almost none who don’t budget at all—indicated the same. Among the survey’s many findings: Daily budget reminders offer an easy way for people to feel happier about their financial situations.

These are just some of the findings detailed in “Feeling Stressed? Budgeting Works Wonders (Really),” the latest installment of the “New Reality Check: The Paycheck-to-Paycheck Report,” a PYMNTS Intelligence exclusive series. This edition draws on insights from a survey of 2,040 U.S. consumers conducted from May 1, 2025, to May 21, 2025.

Facing Financial Stress

Most consumers—even those with high incomes—feel concerned about their finances.

Personal finances are a source of stress for most consumers. In fact, 24% feel highly anxious and 36% are somewhat concerned about their financial situation, while only 40% feel comfortable. Lower-income individuals are understandably the most likely to worry, at 71%, but most middle and high earners are also worried.

Naturally, consumers living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to pay their bills tend to feel the most anxiety. Just less than three-quarters are either highly anxious (47%) or somewhat (28%) concerned. Even among individuals not living paycheck to paycheck, 39% express at least some worry. Meanwhile, the data highlights that financial stress impacts the typical consumer regardless of age, with little variation across generations—although baby boomers are somewhat less likely to report concern. 1

Budgeting Brings Peace of Mind

Most advanced budgeters feel comfortable with their finances, even if they are struggling to make ends meet.

Budget Personas This edition of the Paycheck-to-Paycheck Report introduces three budget personas. Advanced budgeters: 37% of consumers

Use at least one advanced tool, including expense trackers and specialized budgeting apps, such as Quicken Simplifi, or a financial advisor Basic budgeters: 44% of consumers

Use at least one bank app for budgeting, such as online bank SoFi’s, or a basic budgeting tool like EveryDollar, PocketGuard or Empower Personal Dashboard, including those with automatic bill payments and spreadsheets, but no advanced tools Non-budgeters: 19% of consumers

Do not use budgeting tools

Specialized budgeting tools can be a powerful tool for reducing financial stress. Nearly half of advanced budgeters (47%) feel comfortable with the state of their pocketbooks. This is substantially higher than the levels seen among basic budgeters and those who do not actively budget, at 34% and 39%, respectively.

So which consumers tend to be advanced budgeters? Those with household incomes over $100,000 per year are the most likely, at 45%, compared to just 27% of their low-income counterparts. Conversely, 28% of low-income respondents are non-budgeters, more than twice the rate seen in the high-income bracket. Another clear trend is that younger consumers are more likely to use advanced budgeting tools. Gen Z leads, at 55%, followed by millennials, at 48%.

The benefits of advanced budgeting stand out among consumers who struggle to make ends meet. In fact, 53% of consumers who live paycheck to paycheck and both struggle to pay bills and use advanced tools still report feeling financially comfortable. This is several times higher than seen among basic budgeters and non-budgeters. Among consumers who live paycheck to paycheck with no difficulty paying bills and those who do not, there is little variation in budgeting styles. That said, there is complex psychology at work, because using advanced tools forces consumers to get up close and personal with their financial health—or lack thereof. Knowledge is power, but not necessarily comforting.

Please Remind Me

Daily budget reminders significantly boost financial comfort, but many consumers never use them.

Budget reminders are simple but highly effective—and the more frequently they’re used, the better. Fifty-four percent of consumers who set their budgeting tools to deliver daily nudges feel comfortable about their finances. This drops to between 30% and 42% for those who receive fewer reminders.

However, just 14% of consumers opt for daily reminders. What’s more, 40% of respondents have their budgeting tools nudge them less than once a month or not at all. All of this puts a revealing spotlight on the stark lack of consumer engagement with the typical reminder options offered by many banking apps and other tools.

While daily reminders are underappreciated across demographic segments, the data reveals elevated use in a few segments. Interestingly, 25% of those struggling to pay their bills receive daily nudges, considerably higher than among other respondents. Millennials are the generation likeliest to use daily reminders, at 24%, followed by bridge millennials, at 23%.

Finding the Right Tools

Budgeting is not something consumers prioritize, even as they want the planning capabilities and peace of mind that budgeting tools offer.

Despite its benefits, budgeting is not a mainstream habit. In fact, just 21% of consumers report creating or revising a budget in the last year, and only 6.8% found this to be the most effective method they used to get a handle on their finances. Instead, consumers generally make reactionary cuts to their purchasing. Over a third of respondents reduced discretionary spending in the last year (36%) or changed shopping habits (34%). Similarly, more than one-quarter postponed major purchases (28%), used savings to cover expenses (27%) or canceled subscriptions or services (27%).

Dedicated budget apps don’t just help with money pressures today—they also aid in planning for the future. Money goals range from earning and saving more to paying down debt. Interestingly, most consumers seem to think they already know where their monthly paychecks are going, and are focused on ways to shore up their personal balance sheets both today and tomorrow.

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Methodology

“Feeling Stressed? Budgeting Works Wonders (Really),” the latest installment of the “New Reality Check: The Paycheck-to-Paycheck Report” series, is based on a survey of 2,040 U.S. consumers conducted from May 1, 2025, to May 1, 2025. It examines how consumers manage their finances, with a focus on budgeting tools. Our sample was balanced to match the U.S. adult population in a set of key demographic variables: 51% of respondents identified as female, 33% were college-educated and 29% declared household incomes of between $50,000 and $100,000 per year.

1. PYMNTS Intelligence uses the following birth dates and approximate age ranges in 2025 for generational cohorts: baby boomers: born in 1964 or earlier and now age 61 or older; Generation X: born between 1965 and 1980 and now 45–60; bridge millennials: born between 1978 and 1988 and now 37–47; millennials: born between 1981 and 1996 and now 28–44; zillennials: born between 1991 and 1999 and now 25–34; and Generation Z: born in 1997 or later and now 28 or younger.↩