Study Reveals the Extent to Which Americans Turn to Alcohol When Making Big Financial Decisions 

Navigating significant financial decisions such as buying a home, consolidating credit card debt, or even declaring bankruptcy are among the most challenging and impactful choices people face in their lives. These decisions carry substantial emotional and financial weight, making it crucial to approach them with a clear and rational mindset.

But many Americans, when confronted with these difficult financial choices, often resort to avoidance strategies rather than addressing them directly. Alarmingly, one such strategy includes turning to alcohol as a coping mechanism.

A recent survey of 3,000 Americans conducted by CardRates.com revealed that a whopping 21% (1 in 5) admit to turning to alcohol when faced with major financial decisions.

Survey results reveal that Arizona residents are the most likely to use alcohol to help them make big decisions, with 38% admitting to this behavior. Conversely, only 9% of Utah residents reported using alcohol in this context.

Here is a graphic showing the breakdown across each state:

State	Percent
Alabama	25%
Alaska	20%
Arizona	38%
Arkansas	26%
California	23%
Colorado	28%
Connecticut	17%
Delaware	20%
Florida	16%
Georgia	15%
Hawaii	25%
Idaho	20%
Illinois	16%
Indiana	24%
Iowa	27%
Kansas	21%
Kentucky	19%
Louisiana	35%
Maine	27%
Maryland	19%
Massachusetts	21%
Michigan	17%
Minnesota	25%
Mississippi	31%
Missouri	11%
Montana	20%
Nebraska	12%
Nevada	23%
New Hampshire	20%
New Jersey	20%
New Mexico	31%
New York	24%
North Carolina	12%
North Dakota	20%
Ohio	14%
Oklahoma	9%
Oregon	18%
Pennsylvania	18%
Rhode Island	10%
South Carolina	29%
South Dakota	23%
Tennessee	12%
Texas	27%
Utah	9%
Vermont	20%
Virginia	26%
Washington	28%
West Virginia	20%
Wisconsin	23%
Wyoming	20%

The survey also explored which financial decisions most commonly lead to alcohol consumption:

• Filing for bankruptcy: 32%
• Taking out a loan (personal, auto, mortgage, etc.): 15%
• Dealing with credit card debt: 13%
• Retirement planning: 11%
• Divorce: 10%
• Changing jobs/careers: 8%
• Making a large purchase (home, car, etc.): 6%
• Investing a large sum of money: 5%

“All of the listed financial events that people approach while drinking alcohol are inherently stressful,” said Erica Sandberg, Consumer Finance Expert at CardRates.com. “A few of them, though, such as going through the bankruptcy process, ending a marriage, and confronting high consumer debt, are especially difficult life events.”

“Drinking to relax can make sense at the time, but it’s best to make such choices while you are fully aware of what you are doing,” Sandberg continued. “And in general, that means being sober. This way, you can intellectualize the issues and approach them rationally rather than emotionally or while impaired.” 

Over half (51%) of respondents noted that reducing stress levels associated with their financial situations was the primary reason for drinking. Interestingly, 25% admitted that they would drink alcohol to toast success in recent financial decisions they had made. 

Additionally, 12.5% reported drinking specifically to help them make a financial decision, while 9% drank as an avoidance technique before making a decision. Unsurprisingly, 41% of respondents regretted making some financial decisions while inebriated.

Finally, almost two-thirds of respondents acknowledged that drinking alcohol impairs their ability to make sound financial decisions, much like it affects their ability to do other activities such as driving. However, a concerning 18% of respondents said they believed that alcohol improved their decision-making abilities.

An online panel survey of 3,000 Americans was conducted in June 2024. Internal data sources were used to obtain population data sets. We used a two-step process to ensure representativeness through stratified sampling and post-stratification weighting.