Spending money and fights top list of regrets for Americans

This story version has been formatted as an on-air script for broadcast outlets. See the original research story here.

AMERICANS ARE MORE LIKELY TO REGRET THE THINGS THEY DIDN’T DO THAN THE THINGS THEY HAVE DONE. 

AND ONLY 11 PERCENT OF AMERICANS SAY THEY DON’T HAVE ANY REGRETS AT ALL.  

THIS IS ALL ACCORDING TO A NEW SURVEY OF 2,000 U.S. ADULTS CONDUCTED BY TALKER RESEARCH ON BEHALF OF MUCINEX. 

BETWEEN NOT SPEAKING UP (40%), NOT VISITING FAMILY OR FRIENDS ENOUGH (36%) AND NOT PURSUING  THEIR DREAMS (35%), THOSE MISSED OPPORTUNITIES ADD UP.  

IN THEIR LIFETIME, AMERICANS AVERAGE THREE MISSED CHANCES TO TAKE A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME TRIP, FOUR  LOST OPPORTUNITIES TO ASK THEIR CRUSH OUT AND SIX INSTANCES OF NOT HAVING THE PERFECT COMEBACK IN AN ARGUMENT. 

IN FACT, NEARLY ONE-THIRD (32%) OF BABY BOOMERS HAVE A REGRET THAT SPANS THREE DECADES AND STILL CROSSES THEIR MINDS AN AVERAGE OF THREE TIMES PER MONTH.  

WHILE MILLENNIALS’ OLDEST REGRET IS ONLY ABOUT 11 YEARS OLD, THEY AVERAGE FRETTING ABOUT IT ALMOST ONCE PER WEEK, MORE THAN ANY OTHER GENERATION.

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans split evenly by generation; the survey was commissioned by Mucinex and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between August 16 to August 22, 2024.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.