October 26: How we spend our money

“Old money” is on the decline and “new money” continues to rise.

Source: Chartr
Published: July 2021

How we spend our money

Each year the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta conducts a survey on the spending habits of 1,000+ U.S. adults. 

The latest results indicate that “old money” is on the decline and “new money” continues to rise. Only a quarter of purchases were made with paper money (cash or check), while the use of cards (debit or credit) accounted for 57% of purchases.

Interesting note: Although checks represented only 7% of all transactions, checks account for 20% of all dollars spent. This discrepancy suggests we’re more likely to use checks for big purchases.