Many Americans feel burned out by financial advice. From some, money saving tips are starting to feel a bit more frustrating than helpful.
"It feels like you are being punished because costs have risen, and maybe your finances haven't kept up with it," financial analyst Stephen Kates said.
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WATCH HEREHe added that rising costs have people experiencing what's known as "inflation fatigue."
"The nickel-and-dime sort of advice of, 'Hey, stop buying Starbucks coffee,' or 'Stop buying avocado toast,' those things, if you add them all up, isn't suddenly going to allow you to buy a house," said Kates.
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SIGN UP A survey from Wells Fargo found that many Americans are tired of being told the same old things.
Around 44% say they are tired of hearing tips like to stop eating out or to get a side hustle. That may not be a simple solution for everyone.
"I don't think that's a silver bullet to fix your finances," Kates said. "People want to enjoy their lives. I think in a lot of cases, they deserve to, because they're probably working hard or pretty hard at their first job."
Being overly aggressive with savings goals can cause more financial anxiety and unhappiness.
"If your financial plan or your savings plan is making you miserable, then you're just doing it wrong. You need to reevaluate your goals. You need to think about how you can try to achieve them, but also feel satisfied with the life that you have," Kates said. "If you want to buy a home, and you feel like home prices keep rising and you keep moving the finish line, then you never get to stop running. And that's ultimately leaving people with this kind of savings fatigue, this financial anxiety, this feeling like they can never get there because they never really lay down a hard goal."
He recommends sticking to strategies that offer more financial stability, like setting up automatic transfers into savings. Even if it's just $10 a week, that can help build a cushion over time without constant decision fatigue. Budgeting apps can also help track spending patterns – without judgment.
"Not every single dollar spent on coffee or avocado toast is ultimately going to make or break things, but it's the big-ticket purchases like spending $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 on a car that will break the financial plan," said Kates.
