Expense tracking statistics writers can cite

Emergency savings & unexpected expenses (Federal Reserve)

From the Federal Reserve’s Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 (Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking):

• 55% of adults said they had set aside money for three months of expenses in a rainy day fund (2024)—up slightly from 54% in 2023, still below 59% in 2021. Federal Reserve source.
• 63% of adults said they would cover a hypothetical $400 expense exclusively with cash, savings, or a credit card paid off at the next statement (“cash or its equivalent”). Same Federal Reserve report.

Quotable takeaway: Even with modest emergency savings progress, a large minority of adults still lack a three-month cushion—so systems that make daily spending visible (budgets, categories, simple capture) remain practically useful.

Emergency savings comfort (Bankrate, 2026)

Bankrate’s 2026 Annual Emergency Savings Report finds more than half of Americans uncomfortable with their emergency savings levels (survey findings summarized on Bankrate’s report page). People who used emergency savings often did so for essentials such as unplanned medical/car costs, bills, or day-to-day expenses (see Bankrate’s historical emergency-savings usage breakdowns on the same report family).

Spending awareness (CFP Board survey — older, still cited)

A CFP Board consumer survey (published 2019; still widely quoted) reported that 59% of respondents were not tracking their spending, more than one-in-three spent more than they saved, and two-in-five had never had a budget. CFP Board source. Treat the year as part of the citation; re-check if you need a post-2020 fielding.

Younger adults & budgeting impact (Intuit / Credit Karma context, 2024–2026)

Intuit’s “Beyond the Budget” coverage of a December 2024 survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers age 18–35 reported challenges such as living paycheck to paycheck and handling unexpected expenses, and highlighted budgeting as a high-impact habit for money anxiety (Intuit article with methodology note). Use their published methodology language when quoting sample size and age range.

TrackMyExpense product facts (not market share)

These are facts about our app only—do not mix them into industry averages.

• Platforms: iOS and Android
• Pricing (USD, may vary by region/store): Pro Weekly $0.99, Monthly $1.99, Yearly $19.99, Lifetime $99 one-time; free trial on eligible subscriptions via App Store / Google Play
• Capture methods: receipt OCR, voice entry, manual entry; bank link not required
• Also includes: budgets, recurring expenses, multi-currency (150+), offline-first design, PDF/Excel/CSV export, AI assistant on Pro
• Honest limit: TrackMyExpense is a Pro app (not freemium forever); without an active entitlement, core access locks while export/delete remains available from the lockout path

Product overview: expense tracker app · receipt scanner · budget tracker.

Methodology & update policy

Last reviewed: 2026-08-05. We prefer primary surveys (Federal Reserve SHED, publisher-hosted survey pages) over second-hand “X% of people use expense apps” claims without a link. If a source updates, we update this page rather than inventing a new URL.