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Survey finds people are feeling worse about their own finances than they did a year ago

Samantha Fields Apr 29, 2022
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Therapist and executive coach Angela Sasseville says that the pandemic and other factors have primed us to feel more anxious than before. MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images

Survey finds people are feeling worse about their own finances than they did a year ago

Samantha Fields Apr 29, 2022
Therapist and executive coach Angela Sasseville says that the pandemic and other factors have primed us to feel more anxious than before. MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP/Getty Images
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A new Gallup survey indicates that a growing number of people are feeling pessimistic about their personal finances. This time last year, nearly 60% of Americans said they felt their personal finances were “good” or “excellent.” Now, only about half feel that way.

“Last year we had more people saying their finances were getting better than saying they were getting worse. This year, more people say they’re getting worse.” said Jeff Jones at Gallup.

Jones says a lot of the pessimism to do with inflation, and that what people feel has real-world consequences.

“If they’re not feeling good about how their finances are, they’re probably going to be more reluctant to spend money.”

That can have a big effect on the economy, says John Leer at Morning Consult.

“We do see some growing weaknesses in Americans finances … we’re seeing price growth outpace wage growth,” said Leer.

But he says there is some good news from one of Morning Consult’s recent surveys: more than 75% of people who are currently employed feel secure in their job right now.

“What we’ve seen over the course of the last five to six months is a growing sense of job security, particularly among lower-income workers,” he said.

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