Two years ago, the big fear was living paycheck to paycheck, according to a GoBankingRates survey. But that's changed.
Now in 2017, their biggest fear, says GoBankingRates, is never being able to retire.
Twenty-two percent of survey respondents asked to choose from seven major financial terrors, selected that as the fear that haunts their sleepless nights.
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Of course, that doesn't mean they don't have other money worries to keep them awake, and they weren't shy about sharing them—and in addition, there's a difference between the biggest worries for men and for women.
For instance, men are more worried about never being able to retire, at 23 percent, than women, at 20 percent.
While 20 percent overall are most afraid of always living paycheck to paycheck, women are actually more concerned about that than men are, at 25 percent compared with 17 percent.
Then there are those who are most afraid of living in debt forever—18 percent of women said this is their biggest fear, compared with 17 percent of men.
Men are more worried than women about the potential of losing their jobs—17 percent of men, compared with 15 percent of women—while 17 percent of men are most afraid of losing all their money in the stock market.
Just 9 percent of women said that was their biggest fear, but then women don't take the risks men do, sticking to "safe" (albeit low-return) investments and not trading as often as men.
Women are more afraid, at 8 percent, of never being able to afford a home, compared with 7 percent of men, and the lowest item on the financial fear totem pole was the fear of always having a low credit score; that was a tie, at 5 percent of men and 5 percent of women.
Interestingly, while some fears can be predictably tied to age groups, some can't, such as the fact that older millennials, older GenXers and boomers all share the same top fear: never being able to retire.
Younger millennials and younger GenXers are most afraid of always living paycheck to paycheck the most.
But in addition to never being able to retire, older millennials are just as afraid of living in debt forever.
Seniors, on the other hand, are the only age group that chose "losing all of my money in the stock market" as their biggest money fear.
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