Household Account Book Retry Survey: Only 30.3% of Those Who Once Failed Succeed in Retrying – 87.0% of Successful Retriers Abandoned 'Perfectionism'

Key results of the household account book retry survey: Only 30.3% succeeded in retrying, and 87.0% of successful retriers had abandoned 'perfectionism.'

Even if one starts keeping a household account book with good financial intentions, continuing it is never easy. Many people inevitably fail along the way and attempt to try again. However, 'retrying guarantees continuation' is not necessarily true, and a significant number of people repeatedly fail, unable to overcome the hurdle of restarting. What exactly did those who successfully continued keeping their household account books after retrying change or stop doing?

To address this, NilCraft Co., Ltd. (https://nilcraft.jp/), the developer and operator of the household management app 'Okozukai-cho Pokemane,' conducted a two-part survey targeting men and women aged 20 to 59 nationwide. The aim was to uncover the reality of failures and retries in household budgeting and identify common traits among successful retriers. Survey 1 asked 300 individuals who had previously failed about the 'results of their retry.' Survey 2 asked 200 individuals who had successfully resumed and are currently maintaining their household account books about 'what they stopped doing compared to before,' 'what they newly kept in mind,' 'conditions required for tools,' and 'methods they want to choose in the future.'

According to the survey results, only 30.3% (91 people) of those who previously failed at household budgeting managed to continue after retrying, revealing that approximately 70% failed to overcome the retry hurdle. On the other hand, 87.0% of those who were able to continue answered that they 'stopped doing something compared to before.' The common thread among them was 'abandoning perfectionism,' evidenced by responses such as 'stopped meticulously recording every day' and 'decided rough categorization was fine.'

[Key Results of This Survey]

- Only 30.3% (91 out of 300) of those who failed at budgeting are 'currently continuing after retrying,' while about 70% failed the retry.

- 87.0% of successful retriers 'stopped doing something compared to before'; only 13.0% 'stopped nothing.'

- The No. 1 thing they stopped doing was 'meticulously recording every day' at 18.5%, with the Top 3 items all related to reducing 'recording effort.'

- The No. 1 new mindset adopted was 'deciding rough categorization is fine' at 23.5%, with 'simplification' accounting for 44.5% in total.

- The No. 1 condition required for budgeting tools was 'allows only simple input' at 22.5%, with the 'simple axis' (easy input + no unnecessary functions) totaling 40.5%.

- 'If I start next time, it will be an app' reached 56.5%, showing that over half of those currently continuing prefer apps.

*For details on the survey methodology and target audience, please refer to the 'Survey Implementation Overview' later in the document.

Main Survey Results

1. Only 30.3% of those who failed at budgeting are 'currently continuing after retrying' — About 70% failed the retry, with 31.3% experiencing 'repeated failures' and 37.3% 'currently not tracking.'

We asked 300 men and women aged 20-59 nationwide who had failed at keeping a household account book about the results of their retry.

Q1. Results of retrying after a budgeting failure — Only 30.3% had a 'successful retry,' while about 70% could not overcome the retry hurdle.

It was found that 18.0% (54 people) answered 'I retried and am still keeping a budget currently,' and 12.3% (37 people) answered 'I repeated it several times and am currently keeping a budget,' meaning a total of 30.3% (91 people) succeeded in retrying. Conversely, 31.3% (94 people) 'retried and continued for a while, but failed again,' and 37.3% (112 people) 'repeated it several times, but are not tracking currently.' Combined, 68.6% (206 people) are in a state where they cannot overcome the retry hurdle.

What is noteworthy is the reality that about 70% of those who have experienced failure in budgeting still cannot continue even if they retry. The data clearly shows that 'if you retry, you can continue next time' is not a given, and that retrying itself presents a distinct barrier. So, what did the people who succeeded in retrying and continuing their budgets change compared to their previous (failed) attempts? In the next section, we look at the voices of 200 successful retriers.

2. 87.0% of successful retriers 'stopped doing something' — The No. 1 stopped item was 'meticulously recording every day' at 18.5%, with the Top 3 items accounting for 52.0% aiming to reduce 'recording effort.'

We asked 200 people who successfully retried and are continuing their household account books about what they 'stopped doing' compared to their previous (failed) attempts.

Q2. What successful retriers 'stopped doing' compared to before — No. 1 was 'meticulously recording every day' at 18.5%, with the Top 3 totaling 52.0%.

The most common response was 'stopped meticulously recording every day' at 18.5% (37 people), followed by 'stopped recording in handwritten notebooks (switched to apps, etc.)' at 17.5% (35 people), and 'stopped finely dividing expense categories' at 16.0% (32 people). The Top 3 combined amounted to 52.0%, showing that the majority of successful retriers