Survey reveals growing acceptance of frugality among Americans

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

BEING FRUGAL IS ‘IN,’ ACCORDING TO A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS.

A SURVEY OF 2,000 AMERICANS FOUND THAT 61 PERCENT AGREE THAT IT’S LESS TACKY TO BE FRUGAL TODAY THAN IT WAS 10 YEARS AGO.

IN FACT, THE WORD NO LONGER HOLDS A HARSH CONNOTATION, AS PEOPLE NOW DEFINE IT AS BEING CAREFUL WITH MONEY (46%) AND AVOIDING UNNECESSARY SPENDING (43%) – AS OPPOSED TO BEING ‘CHEAP’ (23%).

THE SURVEY FROM BANKING APP CHIME FOUND THAT THE DEFINITION OF ‘FINANCIAL PROGRESS’ IS UNIQUE FOR EVERYONE. 

FOR GEN Z, IT MEANS BEING ABLE TO PURCHASE WHATEVER THEY WANT AT THE GROCERY STORE (32%), WHILE FOR MILLENNIALS, IT’S MORE ABOUT FINDING WAYS TO GROW THE MONEY THEY ALREADY HAVE (31%).

FOR THE OLDER GENERATIONS, THAT DEFINITION EXPANDS TO INCLUDE HAVING MONEY LEFT OVER AFTER PAYING BILLS AND EXPENSES, OR SIMPLY BEING ABLE TO PUT MONEY INTO THEIR SAVINGS, ACCORDING TO THE DATA WHICH WAS PROVIDED BY TALKER RESEARCH.

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 4,000 Americans evenly split by gender and generation; the survey was commissioned by Chime and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between March 13 and 21, 2025.

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.