Survey: In this economy, the sign of financial success isn’t being a millionaire but living comfortably, many Americans say

Maybe it’s a paradigm shift four years after a global pandemic upended American life. Perhaps it’s an inflation crisis that’s redefining U.S. living standards. Or maybe it’s just a false stereotype of the ultimate “American Dream.”

Americans aren’t indicating that success looks like retiring on a beach or having a Porsche in the driveway. Rather, they seem to be content with comfort.

To consider themselves financially successful, Americans most commonly say they’d need to be living comfortably (56 percent), financially prepared for the future (44 percent), never worrying about money (41 percent) and living debt-free (41 percent), according to a new Bankrate survey. Those picks were more popular than having enough money to quit working (19 percent), being a millionaire (13 percent) and owning a business (11 percent), among others. Respondents could select up to three choices to define what success looks like to them.

But just because their definitions of success might appear grounded, doesn’t mean all Americans are feeling like their version of success is achievable. Just 11 percent of adults with an idea of what financial success looks like for them say they’ve already achieved that vision, Bankrate’s poll also found. And as many economists start warning of hotter inflation for longer, 27 percent of those Americans expect that they’ll never achieve their version of financial success.

Key insights from Bankrate’s Financial Success Survey

Living comfortably, never worrying about money and having no debt: A new American Dream?

Beyond Americans’ most popular achievements related to financial success, about 3 in 10 Americans (29 percent) say they’d have to own their own home. An even smaller share (10 percent) say advancing in their career or having a high-paying job is part of their definition of financial success. Just 2 percent cited other factors, while 4 percent didn’t know.

Living comfortably was the most popular definition of financial success across every demographic, including gender, race, generations and income levels. Meanwhile, most groups’ other two most common picks mirrored national-level data, with groups either selecting living debt-free, being financially prepared for the future or never having to worry about money for their second or third choices.

But not Generation Z (ages 18-27). The third-most-cited definition of financial success for the nation’s youngest adults: owning their own home.

Gen X (ages 44-59) was more likely than any other generation (at 25 percent) to cite having enough money to quit working, versus 17 percent of Gen Z, 19 percent of millennials (ages 28-43) and 16 percent of baby boomers (ages 60-78). Meanwhile, Gen Zers and millennials (at 18 percent and 20 percent, respectively) were more than twice as likely as Gen Xers and baby boomers (at 7 percent and 3 percent, respectively) to choose owning their own business.

Few members of any generation think they’d need to be a millionaire to be successful, though Gen Zers were the most likely to consider it a part of their definition, at:

• Gen Z: 16 percent
• Millennials: 12 percent
• Gen X: 13 percent
• Baby boomers: 12 percent

• How Americans define financial success, by gender, income and race

  Men and women had the same top three definitions for financial success: living comfortably, being financially prepared for the future and living debt-free. Yet, a higher degree of men pointed to loftier definitions of financial success, while a larger share of women had their sights set on more modest aspirations.

  Aspects of financial success	Men	Women
  Living comfortably	53%	58%
  Being financially prepared for the future	41%	47%
  Never having to worry about money	38%	43%
  Living debt-free	38%	44%
  Having enough money to quit working	22%	16%
  Owning my own business	14%	9%
  Being a millionaire	15%	10%

  Higher earners are more likely to be thinking about having enough money to quit working, yet the lowest earners were most likely to cite being a millionaire as part of their definitions of financial success.

  Aspects of financial success	Under $50,000	Between $50,000 and $79,999	Between $80,000 and $99,999	$100,000 or more
  Having enough money to quit working	16%	19%	25%	23%
  Being a millionaire	14%	10%	11%	13%

  Black Americans are more likely than Hispanic and White Americans to say being a millionaire and owning their own business are key to becoming financially successful.

  Aspects of financial success	Black Americans	Hispanic Americans	White Americans
  Owning my own business	20%	13%	10%
  Being a millionaire	22%	14%	11%

Few Americans consider themselves financially successful

About two-thirds of adults with a vision for financial success (62 percent) think they’ll achieve it one day. Yet, the older those Americans are, the more likely they are to push their expected time frame for success back.

For Gen Zers with a vision, the largest share expect they’ll be successful by their 30s:

• Between ages 20-29: 28 percent
• 30-39: 38 percent
• 40-49: 16 percent
• 50-59: 4 percent
• 60-69: 0 percent
• 70+: 0 percent

The same group of younger millennials — some of whom are in their early 30s — also remain hopeful that they’ll become successful before they enter their 40s:

• Between ages 20-29: 6 percent
• 30-39: 33 percent
• 40-49: 26 percent
• 50-59: 15 percent
• 60-69: 2 percent
• 70+: 1 percent

The lion’s share of older millennials, however, see themselves achieving financial success in their 40s:

• 30-39: 12 percent
• 40-49: 33 percent
• 50-59: 19 percent
• 60-69: 6 percent
• 70+: 1 percent

As for Gen Xers, most are split between achieving their version of financial success in their 50s or later on in their 60s:

• 40-49: 6 percent
• 50-59: 24 percent
• 60-69: 20 percent
• 70+: 6 percent

The largest cluster of baby boomers see themselves achieving financial success in their 60s (23 percent) or 70s (14 percent).

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At the same time, baby boomers (at 23 percent) are the most likely group to say they’ve already achieved their version of financial success, compared with 3 percent of Gen Z, 3 percent of millennials and 6 percent of Gen X.

Millennials are nearly twice as likely as Gen Zers (20 percent versus 11 percent) to think they’ll never be able to achieve their version of financial success. Yet, Gen Xers and baby boomers are even more pessimistic, at 37 percent each.

Women who have a vision for financial success are also more likely to think they’ll never be financially successful (at 31 percent), versus 23 percent of men. Meanwhile, the same group of White Americans (31 percent) are more pessimistic about not being financially successful in the future, compared with 14 percent of Black Americans and 22 percent of Hispanic Americans.

Lower earners, meanwhile, are the most likely to feel that they’ll never be able to achieve their version of financial success:

• Under $50,000: 37 percent
• Between $50,000 and $79,999: 26 percent
• Between $80,000 and $99,999: 22 percent
• $100,000 and over: 12 percent

Perhaps indicating the goals that appear the least attainable, almost 3 in 5 Americans who never expect that they’ll be able to achieve their version of financial success (58 percent) said that never having to worry about money was part of their definition.

To be successful, most Americans indicate that their personal financial situations would need to change

Over half (53 percent) of the Americans who don’t consider themselves successful say they would need to make more money to work toward it, the most common financial step, Bankrate’s poll found.

Slightly less than half (49 percent) say they would need to grow their savings, more than a third (34 percent) would need to pay down debt and 30 percent say they need to invest more. Meanwhile, 26 percent say they need to stick to a budget and 13 percent would need to take on more responsibilities at work or work longer hours.

Yet, 9 percent of this group says it does not matter what they do with their finances; they will still never be financially successful. That share jumped considerably for lower-income Americans, White respondents and baby boomers.

Every generation except baby boomers is most likely to say the main path toward achieving their version of financial success involves making more money. Baby boomers, on the other hand, primarily say they’d need to grow their savings (40 percent) or pay down debt (39 percent) versus just 28 percent who cite making more money.

Meanwhile, young adults, men and Black Americans are showing a greater inclination toward investing to achieve their goals.

Bottom line

Americans’ progress toward achieving their financial goals should never feel like a sprint. Instead, it’s a journey spread out over the course of their entire lives, with Americans prioritizing sticking to a budget, living within their means and finding ways to ensure they’re saving for both the short term — and the long term. And even for the Americans who do end up meeting their self-prescribed requirements for financial success, it doesn’t mean they’ll be able to turn a blind eye to their personal financial situations.

Americans can find numerous tools at their disposal to supercharge their advancement toward their goals.

• Have credit card debt? Chipping away at high-cost debt is never easy, especially with no credit card rates hovering at record highs. If you’re carrying a balance, consider calculating how much it would cost you to transfer your debt to a 0 percent balance transfer card. Sometimes, the fees are worth it, with the best options on the market currently giving consumers the opportunity to repay their debt with no interest for 18-21 months.
• Looking to build your savings? Never underestimate the value of small savings contributions. Putting just $100 a month in a retirement account could grow to $975,000 over 45 years, Bankrate calculations show. Meanwhile, putting $10,000 into a high-yield savings account currently offering 5 percent a year in interest would result in $500 in just one year, assuming yields remain the same for the entire period.

“Whatever your income currently is, there’s a good chance you feel like you’d be doing better if you had just a bit more,” Rossman says. “That’s a sliding scale and is always just a little bit out of reach.”

• Methodology

  Bankrate commissioned YouGov Plc to conduct the survey. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,403 U.S. adults, of whom 2,320 say they have an idea of what it means for them to be financially successful. Fieldwork was undertaken between April 15-17, 2024. The survey was carried out online and meets rigorous quality standards. It employed a non-probability-based sample using both quotas upfront during collection and then a weighting scheme on the back end designed and proven to provide nationally representative results.