- Worry rises most for paying bills, maintaining standard of living
- Having enough money for retirement remains Americans’ top concern
- Worry has soared among lower-income adults
– Americans are more likely today than they were a year ago to report being “very” or “moderately worried” about several aspects of their finances, reversing the improvement seen last year.
People’s concern has increased the most about paying their monthly bills (up eight percentage points to 40%) and maintaining the standard of living they enjoy (up seven points to 52%). But concern has also increased, by five points, on paying one’s rent or mortgage (35%), making minimum payments on credit cards (22%) and having enough money for retirement (63%).
Worry Surges Among Low-Income Americans
The amount Americans worry about each of the eight financial matters is, as would be expected, strongly correlated with income. Worry among middle- and upper-income Americans has not changed meaningfully on most items, while the rates have soared among those in households making less than $40,000 per year.
Most notably, the percentage worried about maintaining their standard of living has increased 17 points among lower-income adults, from 56% in 2021 to 73% today. By contrast, it has increased six points to 52% among middle-income earners and four points to 36% among the top income group.
Similarly, the percentage of lower-income adults worried about paying their rent or mortgage, making their minimum credit card payments, affording retirement, and paying for medical care in the case of a serious illness or accident have all increased by 10 or more points, compared with small or no increases among higher-income adults.
In an exception to the generally small increases in financial concerns expressed by upper-income Americans, the percentages worried about paying monthly bills and paying their housing costs have about doubled, albeit from a low 7% last year to 18% and 15%, respectively, today.
Bottom Line
Inflation affects more than consumer spending and stock prices; it is causing anxiety among Americans about meeting their daily financial obligations and important savings goals. The increases among Americans as a whole have been fairly modest over the past year, but these mask a much greater rise in worry among lower-income Americans, two-thirds of whom now have doubts about just paying their monthly bills.