Published in PYMNTS.com, click here to read the entire article.
Rising prices and uncertain job prospects are shaking Americans’ sense of financial stability. As everyday costs climb and paychecks stretch thinner, many consumers are losing confidence in their ability to stay afloat—signaling deepening concerns about the health of both household finances and the broader economy.
Today, more consumers are struggling to get by. More than one in four, or 26%, had difficulties paying their bills last month—the highest share in at least two years. Overall, nearly seven in 10 consumers are now living paycheck to paycheck, with varying degrees of difficulty in paying monthly bills—the second-highest level over two years and nearly equal to the record high this summer.
Some groups are hit harder than others. For instance, 34% of consumers living in rural areas struggle to pay their bills. This share is far higher than the 24% of suburban individuals who report the same. In fact, even among high-income consumers in households earning $100,000 annually or more, financial pressure persists in rural areas.
Other lifestyle factors are also linked to financial strain. Forty-four percent of single adults with children are having difficulties paying their monthly bills. They are more than twice as likely as married individuals without children to face such challenges. Age plays a role, too. Bridge millennials—the cusp generation spanning older millennials and younger Gen X individuals—are struggling more than other generations.
