PR - Americans Careless with Cash: Visa Survey

For nearly half of all Americans, the old saying that "money burns a hole in your pocket" is true — at least, when it comes to cash. Every year, about $2,340 in cash "disappears" from Americans’ wallets when people simply lose track of their spending, according to a new survey commissioned by Visa USA.

Nearly half of all Americans lose track of significant amounts of cash spending every year, according to the survey. In fact, 48 percent of Americans say they can’t account for more than one-third of their cash payments, spending an average of $120 in a typical week, but losing track of $45. Among those who report "mystery spending," men under age 35 are the worst at monitoring where it all goes, losing track of more than $3,000 a year on average.

"It’s understandable that consumers would lose track of some cash over the course of a week, but we were surprised by how much cash goes unaccounted for at the end of a week — a dollar here and a dollar there definitely adds up," said Wayne Best, Visa’s chief economist. "On the bright side, the survey found that people believe plastic can help them manage their money. Four out of five debit cardholders said that using a debit card helps them track their spending."

The nationwide telephone survey of 2,036 U.S. adults asked respondents to estimate their "mystery spending," or the cash they spend but have no idea where it went. According to the results, almost half (48 percent) of respondents suffer from mystery spending, with 7 percent losing track of $100 or more each week.

One in five people who admit to misplacing more than $25 in cash per week say their mystery spending is "out of control," and 62 percent feel that "small cash purchases make it difficult to track spending." Furthermore, 47 percent say that "mystery spending makes budgeting difficult."

Where does all the lost cash go? Those who lost track of $25 or more per week said they were most likely to mystery spend while:

• Out for a night on the town (58 percent)
• Grocery shopping (55 percent)
• Out with children (50 percent)
• Shopping during a sale (40 percent)
• Shopping with friends (33 percent)

Americans ages 34 and under — especially men — are the biggest mystery spenders. Men in this age range who lose track of their cash "mysteriously spend" an average of $59 per week, or $3,078 per year, with more than half (56 percent) saying their cash "disappears" during a night out. Meanwhile, their female counterparts mysteriously spend an average of $52 a week or $2,709 a year — most likely while shopping (67 percent).