- - Humphrey Yang Reacts To 10 Jaw-Dropping Money Stats of the Average Person

Ashley DonohoeFebruary 6, 2026 at 3:00 AM

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©Humphrey Yang

If you’re wondering how you’re doing with money compared to the average person, money stats provide insights that can highlight your strengths and show you where you can improve. They’re also useful for learning about potentially costly money mistakes and common financial regrets.

In a YouTube video, financial influencer Humphrey Yang shared 10 jaw-dropping money stats on everything from car loans and bank deposits to stock market returns and homeownership. He also shared tips for making wiser financial decisions.

Underwater Car Loans

Edmunds noted that 26.6% of trade-in vehicles had underwater car loans in the second quarter of 2025, meaning they were worth less than the borrower owed and the average person was $6,754 in the red. Yang said that high car prices, longer loan terms and depreciation have contributed to the issue.

He advised going with a used car to avoid a big depreciation hit and not worrying about other people’s opinions. He also discussed the 20/4/10 rule, which involves making a minimum 20% down payment, choosing a four-year loan term and limiting your car payment to 10% of your monthly pre-tax income.

See Next: 5 Key Mindset Shifts To Financially Become the Top 1%, According to Humphrey Yang

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Buy Now, Pay Later Plans

Morgan Stanley reported an average $760 buy now, pay later balance. Surprisingly, this form of installment plan is especially popular with six-figure earners.

While using buy now, pay later services is convenient, this habit can lead to regrets, overspending on luxuries and potential late fees. Yang said it’s better to avoid buying things you can’t afford and acknowledge that even interest-free payment plans are debt.

Deposits at Big Banks

According to a 2023 Federal Reserve note — the most recent data, deposits at commercial U.S. banks totaled $18 trillion. Some of that amount included everyday people’s savings, which may be earning very little interest. That’s why Yang advised using a high-yield savings account for your emergency fund and other goals.

“For example, $5,000 in a regular savings account at the national average savings rate of 0.40% is only $20 in interest after one year,” Yang explained. “But if you were able to save it in a high-yield account that offered 3.50% APY, that would be an extra $175 for no extra work.”

Emergency Expense Affordability

Around 42% of Americans don’t have cash to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense, according to a financial wellness survey by U.S. News & World Report. This puts them at risk of running up debt if they need to pay a medical bill, get a car repair or face another hardship.

Yang recommended prioritizing building an emergency fund, which will also give you some peace and only using the cash for true emergencies. You might start with a $1,000 savings goal and then work toward having three to six months’ worth of expenses.

Median Bank Account Balance

Yang referenced 2022 Federal Reserve data showing a median transaction account balance of $8,000, much less than the $62,500 average. Unsurprisingly, income and age affected the amounts.

Yang’s takeaways included putting large balances in high-yield savings accounts, not paying too much attention to stats and working on growing your income, which will allow you to save more.

Cash in an IRA

Based on 2022 account data mentioned, Vanguard found that 28% of IRA account owners who did rollovers from other accounts had left the moved funds in cash, leading to missed returns. Often, people are unaware that they need to take action after the rollover.

Yang suggested looking at your current IRA assets and not assuming money is automatically invested or allocated in some way. That way, you can invest any cash sitting there.

Doubling of the Stock Market

Yang said you can expect your money to double around every 10 years, with the average annual stock market return over time being 8% to 10%.

However, the market is volatile, so you should be patient and prepared to handle large swings without panicking. The main thing is to get involved so you don’t lose to inflation or miss out on wealth-building opportunities.

“If you miss just 10 of the best days in the market in the past 30 years, you could erase your gains by 54%,” Yang explained. “Missing 20 days and 30 days, respectively, will cost you 73% of your total gains and 83% of your total gains.”

Median Homebuyer Age

Yang discussed how the median homebuyer age has jumped from 28 years old in 1991 to 38 years old now, with affordability playing a major role. Renting is popular for fewer hidden costs, flexibility and other perks. Plus, some people prefer investing the cost difference of renting versus buying.

If you do buy a house, Yang advised living in it for five to 10 years, which is useful for recouping costs and potentially refinancing. He also encouraged carefully assessing all-around affordability and not buying just because you feel like you should.

Net Worth for Top 10%

“The data sources pretty much all converge together and they say that to enter the top 10% of American wealth, that your net worth needed to hit around $970,000 back in 2022,” Yang said. “So, if you adjust that for inflation, that’s just around $1.06 million as of 2025.”

You could have that much invested in 30 years if you contributed around $950 per month at a 7% return, per this calculator by Investor.gov. Yang added that managing your income well, taking some action and tracking your net worth will be useful for growing it.

Savings Rate

Yang used an example of two workers who earned $100,000 salaries and wanted to save $100,000. The first one had a 10% savings rate but only earned a 1% return, while the other got a 10% return but only had a 5% savings rate. Surprisingly, it took 9.6 years for the first investor to reach their goal compared to 11.7 years for the second one.

Yang said this shows how the savings rate plays a bigger role than the return for beginners. It also serves as a good motivator for anyone to start saving and investing more.

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Source: “AOL Money”