Americans today continue to be disciplined with their spending habits. Saving money continues to be one of consumers’ top financial goals, but many have taken on more risk than they would prefer in order to play catch-up and pay off debt, according to a recent…

Americans today continue to be disciplined with their spending habits. Saving money continues to be one of consumers’ top financial goals, but many have taken on more risk than they would prefer in order to play catch-up and pay off debt, according to a recent study from Northwestern Mutual.

The 2013 Planning and Progress Study, which examines the current state of financial planning, found that almost a quarter of U.S. adults aged 25 or older said they would like to be more cautious with their money but have a lot of catching up to do. Additionally, 22 percent said they’ve tapped into their retirement or savings in the last three years.

The survey also found that the most popular approach to saving money and investing, reported by 34 percent of adults, was “slow and steady wins the race.”

“It’s good to see that, on balance, people are not looking for shortcuts or slipping back into bad habits—especially now that we’re seeing tangible signs of a slowly recovering economy,” Greg Oberland, executive vice president of Northwestern Mutual, said in a statement. “Still, too many people are trying to play catch-up, which can lead to...