Most Americans mentally spend their paychecks before money hits bank account: poll

The average American has already mentally spent more than half of their paycheck before it lands in their account, according to a new survey.The survey polled 2,000 employed Americans who make less than $75,000 per year and explored where this money goes, revealing the “anatomy” of a paycheck.Between mismatched living costs and salary (44%) and sporadic, inconsistent due dates (31%), results found that nearly three in five (59%) pre-plan what gets paid first while waiting for their paycheck, resulting in 51% of those funds being pre-spent.Overdue bills (38%) are another leading cause in allocating their pay before they have it.In fact, only 40% of those polled don’t have any overdue bills, while 55% have somewhere between one and four during any given month.Large bills, such as rent or a mortgage (56%), necessities, such as food and medications (51%) and smaller bills like electric or water (38%) are all more likely to be the first things paid after receiving their paycheck than overdue bills (29%).Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of EarnIn, results also found that the average American spends about 43% of their paycheck within the first three days after receiving it, in addition to the 51% that’s pre-spent.The survey also put the 50/30/20 budget rule to the test; a rule where 50% of your paycheck should go to needs, 30% should go to wants and 20% should go into savings.Results found that the average respondent puts the majority of their funds, 64%, towards “needs” such as food, bills and housing.Only an average of 16% is dedicated to “wants” or something fun, and just 16% gets put into savings.More than half (56%) indicated that less than 10% of their pay goes into savings and another 23% can’t remember the last time they were able to stash 20% of their income in their savings, as the budget rule suggests.Only 20% of Americans don’t run out of money or have to live on a tight budget in the days leading up to getting their paycheck.But for ...