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Spending money to spite your face?
104 million Americans spend $65.4 billion to avoid embarrassment.
Ever dropped a penny and didn’t pick it up because it might make you look cheap? You’re not alone: Nearly half (46.8%) of all American adults say they’ve lost money to avoid embarrassment or save face. And they did so in far more elaborate ways than just not picking up a penny.
We analyzed survey responses from 1,971 US adults, commissioned by Finder.com and conducted by Pureprofile, and found that about 104 million Americans left an average $65.4 billion on the table last year to preserve their dignity. That’s about $629 a person.
How are we losing our money?
The No. 1 reason Americans are in the red is because we’re too polite, awkward or embarrassed to ask for money owed to us by family and friends. Nearly 59 million people say forfeited a collective $14.3 billion — or $243 a person — for this reason over the last year.
Surprisingly, being too embarrassed to return a faulty or unwanted item is the second most common way we lose money, with an estimated 56.6 million Americans failing to collect $6.01 billion ($106 a person) owed to them.
How are we losing our money?
| Category | Percentage of Americans who lost money saving face | Number of Americans who lost money saving face | Estimated amount lost per person | Total estimated amount Americans lost by category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Returned a faulty/unwanted item for a refund | 54.5% | 56,684,170 | $106 | $6.01 billion |
| Asked a friend to pay you money owed | 56.66% | 58,938,014 | $243 | $14.3 billion |
| Corrected an overcharge on a bill | 51.46% | 53,528,789 | $76 | $4.1 billion |
| Resisted group spending pressure (split bills, expensive restaurant options, group gifting) | 47.89% | 49,809,947 | $215 | $10. 7 billion |
| Asked for a raise you knew you deserved | 38.24% | 39,780,342 | $762.00 | $30.3 billion |
Women are better than men at collecting their debts
Men are more likely than women to leave behind money owed to them across the board. And no more so than in a group situation: Men (53.57%) are 11.74% more likely than women (41.83%) to go with the flow in a group billing situation even if it means paying more than their fair share.
| Category | Percentage of men who lost money saving face | Percentage of women who lost money saving face |
|---|---|---|
| Returned a faulty/unwanted item for a refund | 58.40% | 50.34% |
| Asked a friend to pay you money owed | 58.82% | 54.36% |
| Corrected an overcharge on a bill | 54.83% | 47.87% |
| Resisted group spending pressure (split bills, expensive restaurant options, group gifting) | 53.57% | 41.83% |
Gen X crossing out their debts
Gen X is the generation that’s best at getting the money owed to them, with only 22.75% feeling awkward about calling in their debts.
At the other end of the spectrum is millennials, with 39.65% of this generation admitting to awkwardness in settling debts due. Of those millennials, a whopping 64.75% admit they failed to collect money owed to them by family and friends, totaling $504.4 million in the last year.
Money lost by generation
| Category | Percentage of millennials who lost money savings face | Percentage of Gen X who lost money savings face | Percentage of boomers who lost money savings face |
|---|---|---|---|
| Returned a faulty/unwanted item for a refund | 59.29% | 48.57% | 45.93% | Amount wasted | $772 million wasted | $286 million wasted | $248.7 million wasted |
| Asked a friend to pay you money owed | 64.75% | 58.10% | 39.84% | Amount wasted | $504.4 million wasted | $163.95 million wasted | $128.3 million wasted |
| Corrected an overcharge on a bill | 55.19% | 44.76% | 43.90% | Amount wasted | $1.15 billion wasted | $242.6 million wasted | $312.7 million wasted |
| Resisted group spending pressure (split bills, expensive restaurant options, group gifting) | 58.47% | 43.81% | 28.46% | Amount wasted | $601.1 million wasted | $348.1 million wasted | $157.6 million wasted |
| Asked for a raise you knew you deserved | 46.99% | 33.81% | 19.51% | Amount wasted | $877.4 million wasted | $216.2 million wasted | $232.3 million wasted |
More money means a tighter grip on debts
Not Surprisingly, those among the lowest income brackets are more likely to chase debts. Those earning between $150,000 and $300,000 are most on top of money owed to them, with only 5.63% saying they were too embarrassed to chase a debt in the last 12 months.
Let’s break down income
| Income bracket | Percentage of Americans who lost money saving face |
|---|---|
| $0 to $25,000 | 16.68% | $25,000 to $50,000 | 26.22% |
| $50,000 to $75,000 | 22.75% | $75,000 to $100,000 | 13.98% |
| $100,000 to $150,000 | 12.68% |
| $150,000 to $300,000 | 5.63% |
For all media inquiries, please contact:
Richard Laycock, Insights editor and senior content marketing manager
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