Rhapsodizing about money on his first comedy album, Let's Get Small, Steve Martin once revealed, "I bought some pretty good stuff. Got me a $300 pair of socks. I got a fur sink. Oh, let's see ... Electric dog polisher. That was a good one. Gasoline-powered turtleneck sweater. And, of course, I've bought some dumb stuff, too." Thankfully, most Americans are less frivolous with their money these days than the "wild and crazy guy" of the '70s. According to a recent report, 73% of US adults surveyed said their financial habits have become more disciplined as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among those people, an equal amount say they expect to maintain those habits going forward. That said, those numbers are far below the 95% who reported the same financial discipline in 2021. When it comes to managing debt, budgets, and retirement planning, habits vary across the country. To find out how America is doing at allocating their funds, Forbes Advisor surveyed over 5,000 people in all 50 states, asking eight questions that covered the most crucial aspects of maintaining financial health. Those results were paired with recent data from the Federal Reserve, yielding a financial discipline score for each state. |

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Ranking last on the Forbes list is Idaho, where only 30% of respondents said they have a budget that governs all their spending. Additionally, 19% of residents said they regularly contribute to an IRA or 401(k), and only 23% indicated they had three to six months' worth of expenses set aside as an emergency fund. Idaho's total financial discipline score is 51.74. To its credit, however, Idaho ranks first in states with the lowest share of residents (30%) who made small impulse purchases in the last three years. The Gem State also ranks fourth among states whose residents report paying off their credit card balances in full every month, and is in a fourth-place tie with Missouri and Oregon for lowest share of residents who say they've taken out a high interest payday loan in the past three years. Idaho is preceded on the list by Hawaii (58.86), West Virginia (64.68), Montana (65.03) and Vermont (65.56). Other key findings in the study: |

• Nearly one in 10 Americans (7%) say they make only the minimum payment on their credit card or make no payment at all. Millennials (66%) are most likely to pay off their credit card balance in full each month; Gen Zers (11%) are most likely to make minimum payments or no payments at all.
• One in five Americans (19%) say they don't have an emergency fund, but men (47%) are more likely than women (37%) to have the recommended three to six months of expenses set aside.
• Six in 10 Americans (60%) say they have a budget that directs all of their spending, but just 3 in 10 Americans (33%) say they always adhere to that budget.

See our slideshow above for the top 10 financially disciplined states in the nation, and click here for the full study.