Highlighting a financial situation many of us can easily relate to, a recent survey by LendingClub found that 61% of consumers said they are now living paycheck to paycheck in April, a nine percentage-point increase from 52% in April 2021.
Three in five U.S. consumers devote nearly all their salaries to expenses with little to nothing left over at the end of the month, according to the report.
The report found that even top earners, those who earn more than $250,000, are feeling the heat, and almost 36 percent are living paycheck to paycheck.
Top earners tend to rely more on credit cards. The report says that those earning more than $250,000 are 40% more likely to use financial products than consumers in the lowest bracket, and as many as 63% of them have an above-average credit score exceeding 750 points.
According to the key findings in the report, in April 2022, 36% of consumers earning $100,000 to $150,000, 31% earning $150,000 to $200,000, 26% earning $200,000 to $250,000 and 24% earning more than $250,000 were living paycheck to paycheck without issues paying their bills.
Another March survey by the American Psychological Association found that inflation and rising costs had become the biggest sources of stress for Americans, with economic stress reaching record highs.
A study by U.S. News & World Report in April found that over two-thirds of Americans are now anxious about their finances and worried about their financial future.
With inflation still hovering near 40-year highs, budgeting can help you achieve you all your personal financial goals. It assists with both arranging and control of the finance of the family. Here you can read more about how to create a budget to tackle inflation.
