Just how worried are Americans about their finances? Enough so that the vast majority of U.S. adults would be willing to take drastic measures in exchange for a bump in their salaries.
A new survey of 1,238 employed Americans from LendEDU revealed exactly what they'd be willing to give up for a 10 percent raise. About three-quarters of them said they would be willing to quit drinking for five years. More disturbingly, over a third would give up their right to vote for life and almost 10 percent would even surrender their child's right to vote for life.
Significant numbers were willing to sacrifice their leisure activities for a raise, too: Over 88 percent say they'd give up watching "Game of Thrones" for life, about 50 percent would forgo movies for the next three years and just over 50 percent would disconnect from all social media for five years.
Plenty were willing to put in more hours to earn the dough. More than half of respondents said they'd work one day every weekend for a year.
These results are in line with other findings. Almost a third of U.S. adults say that they're constantly stressed about finances, according to a recent survey from mobile-banking company Varo Money.
And their level of anxiety makes sense. Those between the ages of 55 and 64 who have retirement savings only have a median of $120,000 socked away, Bankrate reports in a new survey, citing data from the Federal Reserve. That's only 12 percent of the $1 million many experts recommend, and it's worth noting that even $1 million doesn't stretch as far as it used to.
Young people are struggling as well. The same Bankrate survey found that 20 percent of all Americans don't save any of their annual income and even those who do manage to save aren't putting away much.
While giving up alcohol or signing off social media isn't going to result in a raise anytime soon, you can read up on simple negotiation strategies that can help you get paid what you're worth.
To earn more outside of your day job, you can also look into the 22 most common side hustles, as well as 27 businesses you can start for less than $1,000.
Don't miss:
- 65% of Americans save little or nothing—and half could end up struggling in retirement
- Most Americans close to retirement have saved only 12% of what they need
- Here's what men and women earn in the highest-paying jobs in America
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