Ashley Donohoe

Thu, May 29, 2025, 10:11 AM4 min read

A Pew Research study found that 46% of Americans didn’t have at least a fair amount of knowledge of personal finances. Unfortunately, lacking financial literacy can put you at risk of taking on too much debt, not having enough for retirement and being unable to cover expenses.

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In a YouTube video, money expert George Kamel reacted to this study’s findings and gave straightforward advice on handling five essential money tasks that many American adults struggle with. Learn how to boost your skills in these popular weak areas.

The Pew study noted that 25% of Americans didn’t feel very or extremely confident about getting their credit reports. While lenders and others may pull these reports to make important decisions based on your creditworthiness, you should also check them at least annually to spot errors or account issues and see where you stand with your debt.

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Getting your credit report is easy, and you can do it weekly for free. While you could go directly to each credit bureau’s website, Kamel encouraged using AnnualCreditReport.com to get them all more conveniently. You’ll just need to provide some information to verify your identity. If you see any errors, contact your creditors and consider disputing them with the credit bureaus.

An estimated 41% of Pew study respondents weren’t very or extremely confident with budgeting. Not knowing where your money is going every month puts you at risk of overspending and not leaving some cash for your goals.

Kamel explained how to make a simple budget, starting with writing down your total monthly income and all expected monthly expenses (including giving and saving). You’ll then calculate what’s left of your income after those expenses, which Kamel said should be $0 based on his preferred zero-based budgeting method. But the same doesn’t apply to your bank account balance.

“It’s wise to keep a buffer of at least $100 bucks or more in your checking account,” Kamel said. Once you’ve got your budget, start tracking expenses to make sure you’re sticking to your plan.

A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York mentioned that U.S. households owed a total of $18.2 trillion in debt. Especially for the 43% of Americans lacking confidence in paying down debt, the monthly payments, interest and lost opportunities to invest make it hard to get ahead.