Story at a glance
- A new survey by Salary Finance found Americans are financially stressed because of the current state of inflation.
- Seventy-six percent of respondents said the rising price of consumer goods had impacted their finances over the past year.
- Another 36 percent indicated they would not be able to afford their student loan payments, which are set to resume on May 1.
The pandemic may have slowed down, but many Americans are struggling to get back to normal life. A new survey reveals many working adults are being hit hard by inflation, the end of pandemic-era public relief programs and job losses.
Salary Finance, a personal finance company, conducted a survey of 3,001 Americans across the country to understand their financial wellbeing. The results found that 45 percent of respondents were financially stressed, the highest percentage over the last four years. At the same time, 76 percent indicated inflation has impacted their finances over the past year—making it harder for them to afford necessary expenses.
Current inflation is at a record high, with the Labor Department’s consumer price index showing price growth speeding up on a monthly and annual basis. Between January and February, inflation hit nearly 8 percent, the highest rate since 1982.
About 76 percent of the general population surveyed by Salary Finance said the rising price of consumer goods had impacted them, while 84 percent of those whose annual income was less than $55,000 indicated the same thing.
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Salary Finance pulled recent data from banker Morgan Stanley and found 53 percent of people are financially stressed at work. That’s in addition to about 50 percent of those people planning to find a new job in 2022, citing it’s because they want better pay and/or benefits.
Respondents were also asked about their student loan payments that are set to resume on May 1, with 36 percent indicating they won’t be able to afford to resume payments and over half said their student loan debt obligations cause them stress and worry.
Salary Finance found that the average student loan repayment is $393.
The housing market is also putting a strain on many Americans, with the average house price up 17 percent, the largest annual rise in housing costs in over two decades, according to Salary Finance. About 53 percent of survey respondents said they don’t have a mortgage or own a home because they can’t afford to buy at this time.
Most of those people, 65 percent, felt negatively about this, indicating they would buy a home if they could.
Another big hit to Americans’ wallets was the end of the enhanced child tax credit, a program that began distributing straight cash to eligible families with children—with more than 36 million families receiving payments ranging from $250 to $300 per child.
However, that program ended in December after Congress failed to extend it into 2022. In Salary Finance’s survey, 59 percent of parents with school-aged children reported receiving these payments, with 40 percent saying that money helped them build up their savings.
“As financial stress worsens, so does the downstream impact of it. More of those with financial stress are experiencing sleepless nights, distraction at work, troubled relationships with coworkers and mental health issues than in previous years,” said Salary Finance.
Survey Finance’s recent survey is consistent with other data, like from the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Harris Poll, which found 87 percent of those surveyed said they were stressed by the cost of everyday items such as gas, energy bills and grocery costs.
“Americans have been doing their best to persevere over these past two tumultuous years,” APA CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr. said in a press release. “But these data suggest that we’re now reaching unprecedented levels of stress that will challenge our ability to cope.”
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