2025 FinHealth Spend Report Shows the Price of Participation in America’s Financial System Hit $455 Billion in 2024, with Financially Vulnerable Bearing the Heaviest Burden
Fees and interest surged by nearly $100B over two years as student loans resumed and credit card debt grew, costing Financially Vulnerable households 17 times more of their income than Financially Healthy households
CHICAGO, Oct. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Financial Health Network, the nation’s leading authority on consumer financial health, today released its FinHealth Spend Report 2025, revealing that U.S. households spent an estimated $455 billion on interest and fees for financial services in 2024, marking a nearly $100 billion increase in just two years. The findings show that while overall spending growth has slowed compared to the prior year, households remain under pressure from credit card balances, resumed student loan payments, and increased usage intensity of products like Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL).
The new report also highlights stark disparities in how much American households pay just to engage with the financial system. Financially Vulnerable households spent 17% of their income on fees and interest, compared with just 1% for Financially Healthy households. Black and Latine households and those with subprime credit also paid disproportionately more, both as a share of income and in absolute terms.
“Good data and clear analysis are essential to understanding not just how Americans interact with the financial system, but how uneven and persistent the costs of that participation can be,” said Jennifer Tescher, president and CEO of the Financial Health Network. “This year’s report reinforces that we have two financial systems in this country, one for the Financially Healthy and one for everyone else. As the policy and regulatory landscape continues to evolve, leaders must commit to setting and meeting clear standards for safe, affordable financial products that are proven to improve financial health, and to advancing policies that protect consumers and earn their trust.”
Key Findings from the FinHealth Spend Report 2025 include:
- Households paid an estimated $455 billion in interest and fees in 2024, nearly $40 billion more than 2023 and almost $100 billion more than 2022.
- Credit products and services fueled most of the growth, with spending on credit services rising 11% year-over-year to $412 billion, largely due to revolving credit card balances and the expansion in federal student loan payments following the end of forbearance.
- Fees and interest on general purpose card balances grew to $165.1 billion, up 10% from the year prior, with nearly half of revolving cardholders reported paying additional fees such as late charges.
- The resumption of federal student loan payments is another significant driver, with student loan payments more than doubling, from $14.8 billion in 2023 to $30.6 billion in 2024, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Notably, more than one in three borrowers reported hardships, including missed payments or going without food or medicine to stay current.
- Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) usage held steady at 16% of households. Still, usage intensity increased, with 60% of BNPL users reporting taking out three or more loans in the past year, up from 53% in 2023 and 51% in 2022. Reports of repayment challenges also increased, with 8% of users struggling to afford payments.
- Similarly, cryptocurrency use also held relatively steady, with 9% of households reporting holding cryptocurrency in 2024. This figure is similar to the 8% of households holding crypto in 2023, but lower than the 11% who owned it in 2022.
- Deposit account fees (which include account maintenance fees, ATM fees, and overdraft/NSF) stayed flat at $20.3 billion, though overdraft and non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees ticked slightly upward to $12.1 billion after several years of declining fees.
"The data highlight how participating in the financial system often comes at a disproportionate cost for vulnerable households — costs that hinder their ability to grow and thrive financially," said Hannah Gdalman, Senior Manager at the Financial Health Network and lead author of the Spend Report. “From high interest charges to recurring fees, these costs strain families already stretched thin by recent economic and policy shifts. This report underscores the urgent need for solutions that ease those burdens and strengthen financial resilience.”
As with prior years, this year’s report shows that disparities continue to persist across populations, including:
- Financially Vulnerable households spent 17% of their income on interest and fees in 2024, compared with just 1% for Financially Healthy households.
- Black and Latine households paid greater shares of their income and higher amounts in absolute terms than white households with Black households spending 2x more and Latine spending 1.5x more on interest and fees than white households.
- Households with subprime credit spent 14% of income on financial services, versus 2% among prime households.
In September, the Financial Health Pulse 2025 revealed that nearly three-quarters of Americans are not Financially Healthy, underscoring widespread insecurity. The FinHealth Spend Report further shows how rising costs are undermining debt manageability and placing the steepest burdens on financially vulnerable, subprime, Black, and Latine households.
Together, the two reports illustrate how inequities in financial health translate into inequities in financial costs. Pulse captures the scope of household challenges, while Spend quantifies the price of participation in the financial system, making clear the urgent need for solutions that build resilience and reduce cost burdens.
To help facilitate the development of new or improved solutions, the Financial Health Network recently released the FinHealth Standards, a comprehensive framework designed to guide the financial services industry in creating financial products that reduce cost burdens and genuinely support consumer financial health.
About the FinHealth Spend Report
For more than a decade, the FinHealth Spend Report has analyzed the cost of financial services for American households, with a particular focus on those who are struggling financially. In 2020, the report adopted a new methodology that blends extensive secondary research with a nationally representative survey of household financial service use. The 2025 edition marks the fifth annual publication under this approach, offering multi-year insights into household spending and shifting trends. Each year, the report is updated with the most recent data and refreshed product coverage to ensure reliability and relevance. For more information on the methodology, visit: https://finhealthnetwork.org/finhealth-spend-research/#methodology
The report is made possible with support from Prudential Financial.
About the Financial Health Network
The Financial Health Network is the leading authority on financial health. We are a trusted resource for business leaders, policymakers, and innovators united in a mission to improve the financial health of their customers, employees, and communities. Through research, advisory services, measurement tools, and opportunities for cross-sector collaboration, we advance awareness, understanding, and proven best practices in support of improved financial health for all. For more on the Financial Health Network, go to https://finhealthnetwork.org/.
Contact:
Catherine New
Financial Health Network
cnew@finhealthnetwork.org
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