A new survey covering several developed economies finds that about half of adults are stressed about their personal finances.
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At least half of adults in a range of major economies say their personal finances are under pressure, citing inflation as one of the main reasons.
A significant number also said they felt they were worse off financially than their parents and were pessimistic about their children’s economic prospects. International Your Money financial security survey conducted by SurveyMonkey found.
In the United States, Australia, Spain and Mexico, about 70% of adults say they are “very or somewhat stressed” about money. The proportion dropped slightly to 63% in the UK, 57% in Germany, 55% in Switzerland, and about half in Singapore and France.
Across these countries, between half and two-thirds say they consider themselves middle class – except in the UK, where the proportion is lower at 37%.
However, while the middle class is traditionally considered to be financially well off, 45% to 62% of this group describe themselves as “living paycheck to paycheck.”
Half of adults in Australia, Germany and the UK say they are worse off than five years ago.
Meanwhile, only Singapore and Mexico among the countries surveyed were adults more likely to say they were better off financially than their parents.
Inflation, along with insufficient savings, economic instability and rising interest rates, are widely recognized as sources of financial stress.
The study of 4,342 adults was conducted in March and released Wednesday.
“The health of the global economy, while underperforming in some areas, is not reflected in ordinary people’s perceptions…Despite the apparent economic performance, about half of adults in every country are concerned about their personal finances. Feeling the Pressure SurveyMonkey CEO Eric Johnson said in the accompanying article:
Global economic growth is slowing, but most developed economies have avoided an expected recession amid high inflation and rising interest rates. The labor market has proven resilient, but numerous surveys show low sentiment among consumers who have been hit hard by rising household bills and rising prices for everyday items.
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