Related: Closing the retirement savings gap: Employer offerings vs. workers' needs
Ranking last on the Forbes list is Idaho, where only 30% of respondents said they have a budget that governs all their spending. Additionally, 19% of residents said they regularly contribute to an IRA or 401(k), and only 23% indicated they had three to six months' worth of expenses set aside as an emergency fund. Idaho's total financial discipline score is 51.74. To its credit, however, Idaho ranks first in states with the lowest share of residents (30%) who made small impulse purchases in the last three years. The Gem State also ranks fourth among states whose residents report paying off their credit card balances in full every month, and is in a fourth-place tie with Missouri and Oregon for lowest share of residents who say they've taken out a high interest payday loan in the past three years. Idaho is preceded on the list by Hawaii (58.86), West Virginia (64.68), Montana (65.03) and Vermont (65.56). Other key findings in the study:
- Nearly one in 10 Americans (7%) say they make only the minimum payment on their credit card or make no payment at all. Millennials (66%) are most likely to pay off their credit card balance in full each month; Gen Zers (11%) are most likely to make minimum payments or no payments at all.
- One in five Americans (19%) say they don't have an emergency fund, but men (47%) are more likely than women (37%) to have the recommended three to six months of expenses set aside.
- Six in 10 Americans (60%) say they have a budget that directs all of their spending, but just 3 in 10 Americans (33%) say they always adhere to that budget.
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