Think about everything we could accomplish with a few more hours in the day, let alone 96 extra days per dear. That’s not a plea to ditch the Roman calendar and yes, 96 days, or 26% of the current calendar, would likely result in a lot of us working more, but it’s not a small amount of time.
According to The Penny Hoarder’s 2026 Financial Anxiety Barometer Report, 96 days is also the amount of time that Americans lose each year to worrying about finances. That data point is further confirmation that money does in fact cause stress and when one’s financial house isn’t order, their mental and physical health can and do suffer.
“According to our survey, 65% say the cost of essential living expenses is their biggest source of financial anxiety. Credit card debt (23%) and lack of emergency savings (23%) are tied for the No. 2 and No. 3 stressors, respectively,” notes Tiffany Connors for Penny Hoarder.
Add to that, 86% of those surveyed said they don’t feel in control of their finances – a worrisome data point to be sure.
Ditch the Ditching Lattes Advice
At a time when barely more than one in 10 Americans feel in control of their finances and people are losing more than three months of the year due to financial anxiety, advisors need to be reminded of at least two thinks.
First, as one of my Power Advice colleagues so aptly put it, “worry is a misuse of the imagination.” One way of looking at that quote is that if someone is unburdened of their financial anxiety, an array of mental and emotional doors – mostly positive – open.
Second, the prosaic advice of telling cash-strapped, financially anxious folks to dial back on things like Netflix subscriptions and Starbucks visits isn’t going to cut it. Practical as it may be, that advice is actually detrimental.
“Letting go of fun experiences and purchases can have negative mental and social effects. In order to keep up with bills, our survey respondents said they’ve skipped social outings (42%), didn’t go to major social events or family gatherings (23%), and canceled a trip or vacation in the last year (19%),” adds Connors.
Translation: Financial anxiety is bad enough on its own and it won’t improve by sucking joy, even small, out of life.
Financial Care Is Healthcare
Anxiety is an emotional/mental state that can breed physical problems and that’s definitely true of financial anxiety. The Penny Hoarder study confirms as much.
“Loss of sleep is among the top reported side effects of financial stress, according to our survey results. Americans lose an average of three nights of sleep per month,” observes Connors. “And 9% lose 10 or more nights of sleep per month. Meanwhile, 50% of Americans say headaches are their top physical symptom of financial stress, 46% say it’s fatigue and 41% say it’s anxiety.”
The survey also notes that nearly 20% of respondents are delaying dental or medical care due to financial stress and nearly a quarter are consuming more “comfort food,” booze or tobacco to improve their mental states during financial hardship. Those are coping mechanisms, not long-term solutions to financial distress. Those problems are calls to action, not an invitation to cancel a Netflix subscription.
