Survey Reveals 42% Of Americans Admitted To Crying Over Money – Specifically These Groups Of People

Man crying over money staring out the kitchen window.

Novelist and playwright James Baldwin once said, “People can cry much easier than they can change.”

While research has shown that crying can be beneficial and therapeutic, allowing the tears to flow is just a momentary release and serves no purpose in the long term. Crying over money seems especially silly, considering the thousands of different ways to make money. A person needs to know how to make money.

A new survey released by LendingTree shows that a significant sector of people admitted to crying over money in the last year, and the final results are rather surprising.

“More than 4 in 10 Americans admitted to shedding tears over their financial situation during the COVID-19 outbreak, according to our new survey of 2,050 U.S. consumers.

Respondents identifying as parents with young children, women, and millennials were the most likely groups to report crying over money.”

Parents crying over money is understandable since they’re worried about themselves and their young children. As a parent myself, I’ll admit it’s a scary thought but fleeting once a parent stops to think, “ok, so how do I make more money?

Women and millennials should know better. Money is everywhere. A person needs to go looking.

Here are some more interesting facts from the Lending Tree survey:

  • More than 4 in 10 Americans admitted to shedding tears over their financial situation during the COVID-19 outbreak.
  • About twice as many women (55%) admitted to crying about money during the pandemic than did men (29%). Parents of children under 18 (60%) and millennials (59%) were also more likely to report shedding tears over money during the pandemic.
  • Job or income loss (42%) was the No. 1 cause of crying during the pandemic. Other top reasons were the affordability of needs and wants (33%) and facing debt (31%).
  • Some consumers have had a “happy cry” during the pandemic, thanks to stimulus checks (26%) or paused student loan payments (9%), among other reasons.

Crying happy is perfectly acceptable – but not for too long. To read the full report, head over to Lending Tree.

How To Stop Crying Over Money

If you find yourself bawling over lost funds, loss of a job, or any reasons related to making money, allow yourself ninety seconds to feel awful.

Ok, that’s enough. Now, it’s time to do something about the situation. Here are some ideas:

  1. Find a Side Hustle: In the case of job loss, the side hustle might just become your career. Side hustles are abundant and can be started immediately. Start doing gigs on Fiverr, slap some advertisements on your car for quick cash, or earn up to $5K a month with a side gig.
  2. Rethink Your Career: Ask yourself, “Did I like what I was doing?” We’re not asking about the company you worked for, your boss, or your coworkers. We want to know, “Did you like earning money for the tasks required of you.” If you’re crying because you loved your job, that’s one thing, but if you’re crying because you’re now forced to rethink your life, snap out of it! Polish off the resume and aim for the job you want.
  3. Teach yourself how to stop spending money.
  4. Develop some passive income streams and make money while you’re busy doing other things.

Even if you attempt none of these suggestions, the most important thing to do is stop crying over money and take the necessary actions to change your situation.

Author
Chris Illuminati

Chris Illuminati is the author of five books and has written about personal finance, wealth, debt management, and entrepreneurship for numerous outlets including Wise Bread, Grow or Die, and Bankrate.