| Inflation, economic instability and a lack of savings have Americans feeling financially stressed out.
To that point, some 70% of Americans admit to being anxious about their personal finances these days, and a majority — 52% — of U.S. adults said their financial stress has increased since before the Covid-19 pandemic began in March 2020. Those are some of the findings from the new CNBC, Momentive Your Money Financial Confidence Survey.
It's been widely reported that the cost of basic household expenses — rent, groceries and utilities — are all higher than a year ago, weakening consumers' purchasing power. With that said, nearly 60% of the respondents cited inflation as the main contributor to their financial stress, followed by economy-wide instability (43%), rising interest rates (36%) and a lack of savings (35%), according to the survey of 4,336 adults, which was conducted at the end of March.
The survey also found that just 13% of Americans polled say they are very confident in America's banking system. About a third said the recent banking crisis made them much more concerned about their own financial security, and 42% said it made them somewhat more concerned.
But that recent banking crisis is not the only stressor weighing on people's minds. More than half of Americans (58%) describe themselves as living paycheck to paycheck, including a third of people with household incomes in the six figures. On top of all this, most Americans do not have an emergency fund to help buffer them in times of financial stress and, among those who do, 40% say that have less than $10,000 saved for a time of need.
The CNBC survey also reported that most Americans will use their tax refund to bolster their finances amid economic uncertainty, stock market volatility and lingering inflation. To that point, more than one-third of Americans are saving their tax refund this season, and 44% have earmarked the funds to pay off debt or bills.
For more timely advice to help you make smart financial decisions, check out CNBC's Financial Advisor Hub and Personal Finance section. To listen to the latest edition of the PF team's weekly Twitter Space, "This Week, Your Wallet," click here. |
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