Wells Fargo Says Over 55% of Americans Are Keeping Money Secrets — Here’s Why

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The topic of money has always been a tricky one. Many people consider their finances to be a deeply personal topic — one they don’t feel comfortable bringing up in conversation, even to their closest family or friends.

Keeping a few money secrets might not seem like a big deal, but it can be surprisingly harmful to both you and the people you’re keeping those secrets from. In its 2025 Money Study, Wells Fargo found that 56% of Americans are keeping money secrets.

Here’s why.

Also see why financial infidelity could destroy your relationship, according to Ramit Sethi.

Money Is a Private Topic for Them

Most people (65%) said they keep money secrets because they consider finances to be a private topic. Of those who do have money secrets, 45% said they keep those secrets from their extended family, 44% keep those secrets from their best friends and 44% keep those secrets from their colleagues

For many people, money is a private topic — one that comes with a lot of shame or uncertainty.

“We’re encouraged not to share our salary with colleagues, then there are cultural taboos that believe it’s crass to talk about money. Having debt is assigned a moral value. If you have debt, you’re bad with money,” said Deborah Johnson Miranda, a money coach with Bee Money Coaching. “Or if you are living paycheck to paycheck, society shames you for buying a Frappuccino. So people keep quiet rather than be subjected to shaming and ridicule.”

Even if their financial situation is good, there’s often the fear of being judged or compared with someone who’s “better” with their finances.

They Feel the Need for a Financial ‘Safety’ Blanket

According to Forbes Advisor, 28% of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings. But even those with more savings often keep their account balance a secret.

Why is that? As per the Wells Fargo study, most people (88%) believe they should have a secret money reserve “just in case.”

They Don’t Feel Their Financial Dream Is Achievable

Interestingly, nearly 4 in 10 Americans (39%) also have secret financial dreams. Of that number, 43% say they keep those dreams a secret because they believe those dreams might not be achievable.

Some of this relates to fear, but there’s also a cultural impact that promotes the idea of financial secret-keeping.

“As a culture, we’re kind of obsessed with our financial lives being secret. But we know that if we’re ashamed of something, we’re supposed to keep it a secret, and if something is a secret, we’re probably going to feel ashamed,” said Hanna Morrell, a holistic, trauma-informed financial coach at Pacific Stoa.

Unfortunately, this leads to a vicious cycle of more secret-keeping.

“That transference from shame to secret keeping (and back again) means we’re likely to suffer in silence assuming no one would understand, or worse, that we’d be judged,” Morrell said. “But because we haven’t been given the tools to safely talk about money, we just carry on being isolated and ashamed.”

Secret-Keeping Isn’t Usually Malicious

It might not seem this way, but secret-keeping is very rarely done with malicious intent. Oftentimes, it’s simply a way to protect oneself — either from shame, judgment or something else.

“In my experience, people keep financial secrets to protect themselves, to protect their partners/family, and to protect the normalcy of their lives,” Morrell said. “I often hear people say things like ‘this is my problem, I’m not going to worry them’ and ‘I’ll take care of this on my own, I don’t need to bring it up.'”

This doesn’t always have the intended results, however. “Money secrets affect all aspects of health, not just financial,” Miranda explained.

Keeping Secrets Leads to More Secrets

Unfortunately, the idea that someone should keep their finances a secret often just leads to more secret-keeping — and long-term detriment.

“My belief is that the worse things get financially the worse the secrets become,” Miranda said. “Social media is telling people to stop consuming and to stop buying from the big corporations …There’s so much judgment surrounding money and with an unstable economy, there’s more judgment about how we spend and save. And more judgment leads to more secrecy.”

While it’s not easy, it’s often to your benefit to discuss your finances with someone you trust. That might be a partner, a close friend, or even a financial coach or advisor. Whatever the case, open and honest communication is often the best way to get a much-needed dialogue started — and to cut through the taboo on discussing money.

Sources

• Wells Fargo, “The 2025 Wells Fargo Money Study.”
• Deborah Johnson Miranda, Bee Money Coaching
• Forbes Advisor, “American Savings By Generation: How Balances And Goals Vary By Age.”
• Hanna Morrell, Pacific Stoa

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