WalletHub Study: South Carolina Has the 7th Worst Budgeters in the U.S.

BudgetPhoto byPhoto by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-calculator-near-ballpoint-pen-on-white-printed-

With the cost of living having increased significantly over the past few years, proper budgeting is more essential now than ever. In light of this, WalletHub today released its report on the States With the Best and Worst Budgeters in 2024, to show where Americans are being the most responsible with their finances and where they need to improve.

WalletHub compared the 50 states across 12 key metrics, ranging from the average credit score to debt-to-income ratios to foreclosure rates.

Budgeters in South Carolina (1=Best; 25=Avg.)

• Overall Rank: 44^th
• 40^th – Average Credit Score
• 47^th – Non-Mortgage Debt as a Percentage of Income
• 47^th – Foreclosure Rate
• 46^th – Credit Utilization Percentage
• 41^st – Housing Expenses as a Percentage of Median Home Price
• 32^nd – Percentage of Total Non-Housing Expenses to Median Income

For the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-best-worst-budgeters/138069

“Not having a budget sets you up for financial failure. If you don’t carefully plan out and track how much of your income you can dedicate toward each of your expenses and other financial priorities each month, it’s easy for frivolous spending to get out of hand and prevent you from saving money, investing or even keeping up with your bills. Unfortunately, many people were never taught how to budget, so states should strongly consider requiring instruction on budgeting in schools.”
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“Hawaii is the state with the best budgeters, and it boasts the largest percentage of residents who set aside money for emergency/rainy day funds, at over 64%. In addition to showing that people are being responsible by planning for unexpected situations, this also indicates that people are not living paycheck to paycheck and are not spending all their excess money frivolously. Hawaii also has the smallest share of people who only pay the minimum on their credit cards, at just nearly 26%, which helps reduce or eliminate interest while improving people’s credit scores.”

- Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst