An estimated 106 million adult Americans creep on the financials of people they know. That meddlesome bunch worrying about your money could include your partner, your siblings and even those pesky friends who ask too many questions.
Our latest study of 1,971 American adults reveals that almost half (47.7%) have monitored the financial activity of someone they know, such as checking their credit card statements or Venmo activity.
When it comes to money in America, the male ego is a tinch more fragile than the female ego. Roughly 53.7 million men (50.7%) and 52.3 million women (49.3%) admit to financial stalking.
Husbands and wives are just as bad as the other. We found that 26.8% of those who check on someone’s finances are checking their husband’s, while 26.5% are checking on their wife’s spending.
And the relationship may be over, but 4.4 million men still think about how their exes are burning a hole in their pocket. That’s compared to only 3.5 million women who wonder about an ex’s dollar disbursement.
Nowadays, checking in on Mom and Dad may mean more than just a phone call or friendly pop-in. Some 9.1 million sons compared to 6.5 million daughters admit to financial stalking their folks.
Ever wonder who’s more concerned with their friends’ cash flow? According to our survey, men are twice as likely to watch how their pals spend, with nearly 8.3 million men compared to 3.6 million women admitting they’ve pried in the past.
Could it be sibling rivalry that has 4.7% of women and 4.4% of men snooping on their brother’s or sister’s money situation? Maybe they’re just curious how the family is doing.
Here’s the breakdown of who else is worrying about other people’s finances.
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Husband | 3.5% | 23.3% |
| Wife | 25% | 1.5% |
| Boyfriend | 2.8% | 6.3% |
| Girlfriend | 8.2% | 0.6% |
| Ex | 4.1% | 3.3% |
| Neighbor | 1.4% | 0.4% |
| Friends | 7.9% | 3.4% |
| Boss | 2.7% | 1% |
| Parent | 8.6% | 6.2% |
| Siblings | 4.4% | 4.7% |
| Other relatives | 7.9% | 10.3% |
Not a surprise that 40.1 million millennials are guilty of financial stalking — that’s 37.8% of everyone who financially stalks. These tech-savvy social media users broadcast a large portion of their life, including peer-to-peer payments. (Thanks for letting us peep in peace, Venmo!)
That doesn’t mean older generations aren’t as concerned about other people’s prosperity. Some 27.3 million Gen Xers (25.7%) and 26.4 million Baby Boomers (24.9%) admit to prying into how others dish out dinero.
Don’t underestimate the ability of baby boomers to financially creep: They’re the demographic most likely to spy in every category we asked about in our survey. Check it out.
| Millennials | Gen X | Baby boomers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Husband | 7.8% | 5.6% | 10.5% |
| Wife | 5.5% | 6.5% | 11.6% |
| Boyfriend | 2.7% | 2.2% | 3% |
| Girlfriend | 1.3% | 2.8% | 3.7% |
| Ex | 1.7% | 1.5% | 3.3% |
| Neighbor | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.6% |
| Friends | 2.9% | 2.8% | 4% |
| Boss | 0.5% | 1.3% | 1.6% |
| Parent | 3.8% | 3.9% | 5.5% |
| Siblings | 2.1% | 2.6% | 3.3% |
| Other relatives | 5.7% | 4.3% | 5.8% |
Mo’ money, mo’ problems? Not quite. Those in households that earn less than $75,000 annually are more likely to financial stalk than those in households that earn more. Out of those who have financially stalked someone, 21.2% are in households that earn less than $25,000 annually. When compared to households that earn $75,000 to $100,000 a year, that percentage drops to just 12.1%.
An estimated 70 million Americans who financially stalk earn less than $75,000, while half this amount — 34 million adults — earn more than $75,000.
See the household income breakdown below.
| $0–$25K | $25K–$50K | $50K–$75K | $75K–$100K | $100K–$150K | $150K–$300K | $300K+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Husband | 3.9% | 7% | 6.1% | 4% | 3.7% | 1.1% | 0.3% |
| Wife | 2.3% | 4.3% | 6% | 4.4% | 6.4% | 2.6% | 0.4% |
| Boyfriend | 2% | 2% | 2.1% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 0.3% | 0% |
| Girlfriend | 2.1% | 2% | 1.5% | 0.7% | 1.6% | 0.7% | 0.1% |
| Ex | 1.7% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 0.7% | 1.3% | 0.6% | 0.1% |
| Neighbor | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Friends | 2.1% | 1.6% | 2% | 1.4% | 2.7% | 1.3% | 0% |
| Boss | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0% |
| Parent | 3% | 3.5% | 2.8% | 1.8% | 2.4% | 1% | 0.1% |
| Siblings | 2.1% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 1.2% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| Other relatives | 6.2% | 4.7% | 3.1% | 1.2% | 1% | 0.4% | 0.1% |
