With more than 2 in 3 Americans saying that budgeting better is one of their top priorities for 2025, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released a new report on the Counties With the Best and Worst Budgeters, as well as expert commentary, to highlight where Americans are demonstrating the best financial skills and where they’re in need of improvement.
WalletHub compared more than 2,800 counties based on 11 key metrics, ranging from the share of households without a bank account to the credit card delinquency rate to the share of households with zero net worth.
| Counties With the Best Budgeters | Counties With the Worst Budgeters |
| Los Alamos, NM | Perry, AL |
| Clear Creek, CO | Noxubee, MS |
| Morgan, UT | Leflore, MS |
| Gilpin, CO | Tallahatchie, MS |
| Stillwater, MT | East Carroll, LA |
| Lake, MN | Tunica, MS |
| Custer, CO | Madison, LA |
| Rappahannock, VA | Franklin, VA |
| Elbert, CO | Quitman, MS |
| Douglas, CO | Randolph, GA |
To view the full report and your county’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/
“Although inflation has experienced a general downward trend over the past year, it’s started to rise again during the past few months, and many Americans are still struggling financially. As a result, it’s extremely important to have good budgeting skills in order to make sure all your essential expenses get paid while still leaving room for saving, debt payoff, and at least a few ‘wants’ to maintain your mental health.”
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“Los Alamos County in New Mexico has the country’s best budgeters. Only 6% of households in the county don’t have enough liquid assets to survive at the poverty level for at least three months without any new income. This demonstrates that people are including emergency fund contributions in their budgets, which is extremely important. In addition, people in Los Alamos County leave an adequate amount of money in their budget for paying back debts. This is clear because the county has the lowest share of people with student loan debt in default and the sixth-lowest credit card delinquency rate.”
- Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst
Expert Commentary
What effective budgeting tips can you give to consumers who want to meet their financial goals?
“There are many suggestions for this, but let me just list TWO. First, you need to define what your goals actually are. You should develop reasonable short-term goals, such as paying off a credit card, saving for a vacation, or establishing an emergency fund. Long-term goals might include retirement or funding your child's education. Poorly defined goals will not help you target what you are really budgeting for. Second, you need to track your expenses carefully each month – and I mean ALL of them, even the smallest amounts. Figure out a system to make this as painless and easy as possible. Apps…can help, or you can use a small notebook and pencil – it does not matter. Find what works for you. Set reminders on your phone or place sticky notes around the house. Failing to do this will doom your budget success from the start.”
Tom Hall, CPA, CFA – Associate Professor, University of Denver
“Meeting financial goals requires creating and regularly evaluating your progress over time. This includes identifying goals in the short term and long term. Short-term goals are typically one year or less, whereas long-term goals can be 5-10 years or more. Long-term goals are sometimes harder to achieve because the goal is so much farther away. This is why regularly evaluating your progress over time is important to ensure that you are still on track and that the goals are still applicable to your lifestyle as you age. In addition, a large component of meeting financial goals is being aware of how well you are managing your daily spending. There is a spending habit called the ‘Latte Factor,’ which illustrates that spending smaller amounts on a consistent basis can easily add up to a much larger amount over time. For example, $10/day x 5 days/week x 50 weeks = $2,500 per year.”
Melissa M. Hart, CPA – Clinical Associate Professor, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
What are some of the worst budgeting mistakes and how can we avoid them?
“Not creating a budget is one of the worst budgeting mistakes a consumer can make. Whether this is written on a paper, typed up in an excel spreadsheet or simply capitalizing on apps…having a budget is key. Having a budget helps the consumer track down their spending and provides a visual picture of the individual’s long-term financial goals. Other budgeting mistakes may include but are not limited to neglecting to re-evaluate one’s personal budget at the end of the month, not comparing cost, and not tracking one’s expenses along the way.”
Dr. Troy Anthony Anderson - Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Extension Agent, University of Maryland
“Failing to track ALL your expenses will make your budgeting ineffective. However, another big mistake is setting an unrealistic budget. The reason most diets fail is that many of them are too restrictive and, therefore, too difficult to maintain. You begin to feel deprived, so you give up altogether. Budgets work the same way. It can feel exciting to create a budget that shows you will save a significant amount of money each month, but if it is too restrictive – requiring you to live on macaroni and cheese with no entertainment – you will go over budget every single month, guaranteed. Furthermore, make sure your budget is complete, meaning it includes everything you are likely to spend money on each month. Several years ago, a friend wanted to buy a new, expensive home, so he put together a budget to see if he could afford it. He was excited because it showed he could just barely manage the new mortgage payment. However, he asked me to review the budget first. After a quick look, I said, "This is a great-looking budget, but you are missing one thing – FOOD."”
Tom Hall, CPA, CFA – Associate Professor, University of Denver
Why is it important to develop children’s financial literacy?
“Introducing children to financial literacy early on lays the foundation for financial independence and future success. During childhood, children are in a critical phase of cognitive development, making it an ideal time to introduce basic concepts about financial literacy. Since children are currently transitioning and grasping concepts readily, implementing early lessons in financial literacy can be as simple as making change or identifying coins. These early lessons help to safeguard a financial mindset that can last a lifetime. For instance, when I take my son to the grocery store, he learns practical skills about the art of choosing. At a young age, he has learned to compare prices based on product value and further understands the concept of brand loyalty. Therefore, teaching children the value of saving and spending wisely is crucial during the stages of development. As a child grows older, this knowledge will enable them to make informed financial decisions during the phases of adulting.”
Dr. Troy Anthony Anderson – Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Extension Agent, University of Maryland
“Similar to health literacy, financial literacy is important to develop as it is tied to various measures of life satisfaction. Here are a few key connections highlighted by numerous studies. Financial literacy contributes to financial stability, which reduces financial stress and promotes higher levels of well-being. Financially literate adults manage joint finances more effectively, thereby reducing financial conflicts that contribute to relational issues and divorce. This also models good financial habits for children. Knowledge about personal finance fosters more responsible consumer behavior, helping individuals make better purchasing decisions. This paves the way for beneficial outcomes in the long run, as those with strong financial literacy are more likely to plan for retirement.”
Brian Trout, DBA, CPA, CMA, CGMA – Associate Professor, Millersville University
5 Tips for Better Budgeting
- Plan things out: If you take the time to draw up a detailed plan, your odds of sticking to it will increase. Before you start, be sure to familiarize yourself with the basic process of making a budget, including gathering information about your finances, setting long-term goals, ordering your expenses by priority and assigning them an appropriate amount of your income. The better you understand the importance of budgeting, the more you’ll be able to improve your credit score, avoid overspending, and prepare yourself for the future.
- Leverage free budgeting tools: There are some great free budgeting tools online that can help you build your perfect budget using a variety of templates. Sometimes, these tools can even sync with your accounts to automatically track your spending and make it much easier to see your progress.
- Try different budgeting strategies: Different budgeting methods work best for different people. For example, you might want a budget that focuses on making sure every dollar is assigned to something specific (zero-based budgeting), one that sets specific percentages for needs, wants and savings (such as the 50/30/20 budget rule), or one that sets strict limits on individual spending categories (envelope method). You may need to try out a few types before deciding what works best for you.
- Prioritize the right things: Your first priority should be making payments on your debts. Next, you should focus on paying your essential monthly expenses and saving money for the future. Once you’ve put money toward all of those things, you can set some aside for “wants.”
- Stick to your budget: The best way to track your progress is to sync your bank accounts and credit cards to a budgeting app so you can easily see changes day by day. It’s also good to remind yourself of your long-term budgeting goals often by having them written down in a prominent place. You can ask a friend or family member to help keep you accountable, too!
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