Almost six in 10 U.S. adults are living paycheck-to-paycheck, CNBC reports in a new survey.
In its “Your Money Confidence Survey”, CNBC reports that 58% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and another 70% say they are “stressed” over their household finance status right now.
In addition:
- More than half of Americans (53%) say they do not have an emergency fund, while 40% of those who do have less than $10,000.
- Seniors are more likely than younger adults to have an emergency fund with 68% of Americans who are 65 or older saying they have one compared to almost a third of Americans who are 18-34 saying they do (32%).
- Men are also more likely than women to have an emergency fund (50% of men versus 41% of women).
By and large, financially struggling U.S. adults point to continued high inflation as the main culprit for their illiquid cash situation, the survey reports.
Individuals living on a paycheck-to-paycheck existence are also more likely to blame high credit card debt, no emergency savings, and high student loan and health care costs.
There’s also a major disconnect between the political and cultural ruling class and Main Street Americans that continues to widen.
“In times of economic uncertainty, keeping a pulse on personal financial confidence is essential,” says Laura Wronski, Director of Research at Momentive, an agile experience management company that partnered with CNBC on the report. “Financial stress that might seem small on the individual level can roll up to create a larger crisis of confidence at the national level, and leaders can only act on this when they understand those underlying drivers.”
Metlife’s annual Employee Benefits Trends Study reinforces the cash crunch stress fest Americans are experiencing right now, with a rising number of U.S. workers in financial distress. The report notes that overall U.S. employee financial health has plummeted from 64% in 2022 to 55% in 2023.
“People are in survival mode,” said Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, a partner of Upwise, MetLife’s Financial Wellness App.