Time Lost to Financial Worry: An Average of 3.2 Hours Per Week

When something feels out of your control, we love to do the next best thing and worry about it. "Love," of course, is a strong word here — if, like more than one-third of U.S. adults, dealing with money makes you anxious, you probably don't enjoy freaking out about it, quietly or not.

Software developer Quicken has just released some survey data showing just how time we lose each week to our personal finances: on average, about three hours and 20 minutes. That's not a lot in the grand scheme of things (it's less than we spend on social media, working out, hobbies, and chores), but it's a significant downer if you're always unhappy while you're doing so. More than 1 in 5 Americans take a less helpful route, which is avoiding dealing with their finances at all because of how it makes them feel.

Fewer than 1 in 3 U.S. adults feel like their educations have prepared them to navigate managing their own money, which can leave us adrift and susceptible to poor information. There are some easy ways to help us get more confident about making smart choices with our finances, though, both short term and long term.

First, one way to take some of the stress out of your money routines is to automate them. This can be done using an app, a calendar reminder, or whatever works best for you. Second, beefing up on your financial literacy overall can save you literally thousands each year. There's no time like the present to start either of those tasks — and guaranteed, you'll feel better about your time once you do.