How many Americans are living paycheck to ... - Deseret News

Reality check: New report finds 3 in 5 U.S. consumers now living paycheck to paycheck amid ongoing, record inflation · Waiting for the next check. clock CST_ Facebook Twitter DeseretNews DeseretMagazine ChurchNews PrintSubscriptions Wednesday,October19,2022 |  LATESTNEWS THEWEST UTAH Politics Police/Courts Business Obituaries Education LegalNotices AllUtah SPORTS HighSchool BrighamYoung WeberState UtahJazz UniversityofUtah RSL UtahState OnTV ALLSPORTS OPINION MAGAZINE INDEPTH FAITH CORONAVIRUS PODCASTS U.S.&WORLD ENTERTAINMENT OBITUARIES AMERICANFAMILYSURVEY TVLISTINGS NEWSLETTERS BRANDVIEW LEGALNOTICES more LATESTNEWS THEWEST UTAH Politics Police/Courts Business Obituaries Education LegalNotices AllUtah SPORTS HighSchool BrighamYoung WeberState UtahJazz UniversityofUtah RSL UtahState OnTV ALLSPORTS OPINION MAGAZINE INDEPTH FAITH CORONAVIRUS PODCASTS U.S.&WORLD ENTERTAINMENT OBITUARIES AMERICANFAMILYSURVEY TVLISTINGS NEWSLETTERS BRANDVIEW LEGALNOTICES Twitter Facebook Newsletters ShowSearch SearchQuery Search U.S.&World Utah Business Realitycheck:Newreportfinds3in5U.S.consumersnowlivingpaychecktopaycheckamidongoing,recordinflation By ArtRaymond [month][day],[year],[hour]:[minute][ampm][timezone] Facebook Twitter SHARE SHARE Realitycheck:Newreportfinds3in5U.S.consumersnowlivingpaychecktopaycheckamidongoing,recordinflation CLOSE Email Flipboard AshopperlooksforproduceatReamsFoodStoreinSandyonFriday,Sept.23,2022.JeffreyD.Allred,DeseretNews Therelentlessmarchofpriceincreasesonvirtuallyallgoodsandservicesamidongoing,recordU.S.inflationistakinganincreasingtollonpersonalandfamilybudgets.And,accordingtonewdata,pushingagrowingnumberofAmericansintopaycheck-to-paychecksubsistence.U.S.consumersarecurrentlyinableak,economicnetherregion.AseriesofaggressivebenchmarkratehikesbytheU.S.FederalReservehavedrivenupthecostofdebtbuthaveyettomakesignificantimpactsonsoaringprices.So,whilemortgageratesareapproaching7%andtheaverageinterestrateoncreditcardshit17.96%lastmonth,thehighestratesince1996accordingto Bankrate.com,overallannualinflationcameinat8.3%inAugust,aratefarabovetheFed’s2%target.Increasedcostsforbasicnecessitiesarethemajorinflationdriver,withshelter,foodandmedicalcareallseeingcontinuedpriceincreasesinAugust.Thefoodindex,whichcapturespricechangesinbothgroceriesandfoodpurchasedawayfromhome,wasup11.4%inAugustoverthesametimelastyear,thebiggestyear-over-yearincreasesince1979,accordingtotheLaborDepartment.Groceriesaloneareup13.5%inthelastyear. Related Poll:OngoinginflationandlurkingrecessionatopworryforUtahns Waitingforthenextcheck AnewnationalreportfromPYMNTS.comandLendingClubfoundthat60%ofU.S.consumerswerelivingpaychecktopaycheckasofAugust2022.Andit’sarealitythat’sbeentrendingupwardovertime,increasingfrom57%inSeptember2021.Thosewithlowerincomesarestrugglingthemost,butevenconsumersinhigherincomebracketsarefindingthemselveswatchingforthatnextchecktocovertheirbills.Accordingtoreportdata,45%ofthoseearningmorethan$100,000peryearwerelivingpaychecktopaycheckinAugust,a7percentage-pointincreasefrom38%inSeptember2021.Amongconsumersearningbetween$50,000and$100,000annually,62%werelivingpaychecktopaycheck,upfrom57%inSeptember2021. And,asofAugust,74%ofconsumersearninglessthan$50,000werelivingpaychecktopaycheck,aslightdecreasefrom78%inSeptember2021.Notenoughtopaythebills Notsurprisingly,alongwithagrowingnumberofpeoplewhoseearningsandexpensesarebreakingeven,orless,everypaycycle,anincreasingnumberofindividualsandfamiliesarestrugglingtopaytheirbillsontime.ALendingTreereportpublishedearlierthismonthfound62%ofU.S.consumersarestrugglingtopayatleastoneoftheirmonthlybills,and32%havepaidabilllateinthepastsixmonths.Amongthosewhowerelateonbills,61%saiditwassimplyamatterofnothavingenoughmoneytocovertheircosts.Whenitcomestochoosingwhichbillsnottopaywhenmoneyistight,46%ofthosewhohavebeenlateonpayingbillsrecentlysaidtheyputoffpaymentsforutilitiesservice.Thirty-ninepercentofthatgroupdelayedacreditcardpaymentand34%bumpedpayingtheirinternetorcablebills.LendingTreechiefcreditanalystMattSchulzsaidmanyconsumersarescalingbackspendingandmakingbudgetadjustments,but,inthefaceofrecordinflation,sometimeseventhosetacticsarenotsufficienttokeepup. Related Howmuchisinflationaddingtoyourmonthlybudget?Here’swhatweheardinanewpoll “Lifeisgettingmoreexpensivebythedayandit’sshrinkingAmericans’alreadytinyfinancialmarginforerrordowntozero,”Schulzwroteinthereport.“Unlessthey’vebeenabletoincreasetheirincome,millionsofAmericanshavehadtomake sacrificesbecauseofinflation topaythebills.”AndSchulznotedthatinlightofthelikelihoodofongoinginflationarypressuresinthenearterm,coveringabilloncreditorthroughsomeotherquick-financingmechanismisgoingtobeproblematic.“Perhapstheworstpartisthatinflationlikelyisn’tgoinganywhereanytimesoon,”Schulzsaid.“Thatmeansthatshort-termquickfixeswon’tcutit.”Howmuchisinflationreallyaddingtomonthlybills? Lastmonth,statewidepollingconductedbytheDeseretNewsinpartnershipwiththeHinckleyInstituteofPoliticshadconsumersputapricetagonhowmuchinflationwasaddingtotheirmonthlyexpenses.Whenasked“howmuchmorepermonthareyoupayingforbasicgoods,”32%ofsurveyparticipantssaidtheywerespending$201-$400morepermonthnow,28%saidtheywerespending$101-$200moreand22%saidincreasedpriceswereimpactingtheirbudgetsbymorethan$400permonth. Related Here’showmuchnear7%mortgageratesareeatinguphomebuyerpower While6%saidtheyweren’tsurehowmuchmoretheywerespending,12%estimatedtheirextracostsforbasicsat$0-$100permonth.Thesurveyalsofoundthatnearlyhalfofrespondentsreporttheiroverallfinancialhealthisonthedecline.Whenitcomestocomparingtheircurrentfinancialwell-beingtoayearago,47%ofrespondentssaidtheywereworseoff,31%saidtheywerebetteroffand22%reportedtheirfinancialhealthwasunchangedinthepastyear. NextUpIn Business Opinion:Therealculpritbehindinflatedgrocerystoreprices SaltLakeCityapprovestinyhomevillageforhomeless.What’snext? IRSannouncesnewtaxbreaks.Here’showitwillaffectyour2023taxreturn MetaforcedtosellGiphyinU.K.regulators’anti-monopolyruling Opinion:Whatshouldemployeesfearmostwithaloomingrecession? ‘Movingbeyondpartisanship’:Exploringtherootcauses,differentsubsetsandpotentialsolutionstogunviolenceinAmerica