NASHVILLE, Tenn. —  The pandemic of 2020 wreaked a particular kind of havoc on Americans with debt. According to the Ramsey Solutions Q1 State of Personal Finance study, 42% of those with consumer debt say the pandemic has been a financial setback they don’t think they can come back from, compared to 27% of people without consumer debt.

The study reveals that people in debt are more likely to feel unsatisfied, worried, and stressed than those with no debt. And while 79% say they are hopeful about their personal finances in the year ahead, 60% aren’t currently creating a monthly budget.

“It’s concerning to see that money is the number one cause for significant stress and anxiety, yet the majority of Americans aren’t creating a budget,” said Rachel Cruze, personal finance expert and two-time #1 national best-selling author. “If you don’t tell your money where to go, you’ll wonder where it went. A budget is simply telling your money where to go.”

Other key findings:

• 44% of those in debt say they’ve lost sleep over their finances while 24% of people without debt say they lost sleep for that reason
• 1 in 5 Americans with a credit card have “maxed it out” in the last month, and 1 in 4 Americans with debt are in collections for at least one of their debts.
• Half of millennials with debt report being in collections, compared to 16% of Gen Xers and 6% of Boomers.
• Of those who received stimulus checks, those without consumer debt (45%) were more likely to save the stimulus money than those with debt (31%)
• 23% of Americans report being worse off financially compared to last year, while 30% report being better off than last year
• Only 4% of Americans have invested in cryptocurrency

Read the entire study at: www.ramseysolutions.com/debt/state-of-personal-finance-2021-q1-research.