Nearly half of adults are stressed about personal finance, a new survey across advanced economies has found.
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At least half of adults in a range of major economies report feeling stressed about their personal finances, and say inflation is one of the main reasons.
A large number also say they feel their financial situation is worse off than their parents, and are pessimistic about their children's financial future, according to SurveyMonkey's International Financial Security of Your Money survey.
In the United States, Australia, Spain and Mexico, about 70% of adults said they were “very or somewhat stressed” about money. The proportion fell slightly to 63% in the United Kingdom, 57% in Germany, 55% in Switzerland, and nearly half the population in Singapore and France.
Across those countries, between half and two-thirds of people said they considered themselves part of the middle class – except in the UK, where the proportion was less than 37%.
But although the middle classes are traditionally considered financially comfortable, between 45% and 62% of those who placed themselves in this group described themselves as “living paycheck to paycheck.”
Half of adults in Australia, Germany and the UK said they were worse off than they were five years ago.
Meanwhile, among the countries surveyed, only adults in Singapore and Mexico were more likely to say they were financially better off than their parents.
Inflation has been widely cited as a source of financial stress, along with lack of savings, economic instability and high interest rates.
The study was conducted on 4,342 adults in March and was published on Wednesday.
“The health of the global economy, although poor in some regions, is not reflected in the average person's perceptions… Despite the overall performance of the economy, nearly half of adults feel stressed about their personal finances in every country.” She studied in All over the world,” said Eric Johnson, CEO of SurveyMonkey, in an accompanying article.
Global economic growth is slowing, but most advanced economies have avoided expected recessions amid rising inflation and rising interest rates. Labor markets have proven resilient, but several surveys have pointed to bleak sentiment among consumers who have been hit hard by rising prices on household bills and everyday goods.
