Americans seem more stressed about money than ever
before.
87% of Americans said that inflation and the rising
costs of everyday goods is what's driving their stress.
And that's one of the highest numbers of stress
that we have seen in the Stress in America survey.
Four in ten Americans say that money affects them
negatively and the state of their mental health.
Money is a universal stressor regardless of your
financial standing.
Poor mental health not only takes a toll on a person's
overall well-being, but it's also bad for the
economy. Workers experiencing even one poor
mental health day a month could lead to $53 billion
less in total income each year in the United States.
Money touches every part of our lives, right?
It's modern day survival.
I felt hopeless. I was feeling that depression and
I didn't really know what to do.
It's affecting some Americans more than others.
Statistics say that 75% of Latinos are stressed about
money. One of the biggest anxieties that we face is:
how are we going to build generational wealth?
So why is money so stressful in the United States?
And what can Americans do to alleviate the pressure?
With the cost of living skyrocketing, many Americans
are experiencing financial stress on a daily basis.
Something that comes up time and time again when we query
Americans about their personal finances.
Essentially, it is the expenses that surprise them
on an ongoing basis.
So trying to pay for everyday items, not having
emergency savings and debt.
Those three issues are at the top of their list of
concerns.
Tawnya Schultz and Lea Landaverde became money
coaches after they experienced their own
financial struggles.
I was in debt off and on all of my twenties and early
thirties and around when I was 34 is when I had about
$28,000 in debt.
Even someone who has a masters degree in finance
has their own personal finance issues, right?
I was still figuring out how to adult as well as how
to be in this corporate world, make an income, which
for sure led to overspending, you know,
lifestyle creep.
I was in this debt cycle of trying to get out of debt,
paying off debt, getting back into it.
And I was just tired of feeling like I could never
get out of it or feeling like I was always going to
have debt.
More than 80% of Americans ages 18 to 43 said money is
a significant source of stress for them.
Certain individuals are struggling more when it
comes to concerns about inflation and money.
Between men and women, there were differences in the way
they processed it.
We had more women tell us that it was negatively
affecting their mental health, yet men told us that
it affects their mental health more often.
I felt like I was at a low point because, for my age,
and where I wanted to be, where I thought I should be
in life, I felt like behind.
I didn't have any savings.
I was living paycheck to paycheck.
In a lot of ways money is a safety net or a source of
stability. And without it, people feel vulnerable and
anxious about the future.
Latino and black adults were more likely to say that
money was a significant stressor more frequently
than white and Asian respondents.
Especially coming from my experience as a first gen.
My parents didn't know how to navigate this financial
system.
That's why I even myself entered finance because I
saw the stress my parents faced so then I could learn
and help protect them, as well as protect the
community and providing them education about
finances that are transparent.
Many Americans don't feel hopeful about their
financial future, with 41% saying it's "going to take a
miracle" to be ready for retirement.
I think the problem in recent years has been that
there has been this so called risk shift, whereas
the risk of being responsible for things has
been shifted from others onto the individual.
What can you put on that list?
The cost of obtaining a college education previously
in the public realm borne by taxpayers.
We know where that's been going. The burden of saving
for retirement was often more heavily owned by
employers when they provided pension benefits.
That was shifted to individuals with the changes
in 401(k)'s.
Health care has become increasingly expensive.
That's responsible for one fifth of the American
economy. And consumers and employers bear that burden.
Americans say they're feeling pressure to cut back
on spending. More than 50% of adults say they've
already cut back on dining out and will consider
reducing their spending more if inflation continues
to rise.
More than 75% of adults said they're worried higher
prices will force them to rethink their financial
choices. Even higher income Americans making at least
$100,000 per year say they either have or are
considering cutting back on spending.
People need to have a sense of hope.
And so when the economy is working for them, there's a
greater likelihood that people will have hope that
they can accomplish their basic, personal financial
objectives.
Americans are making a connection between their
financial stress and worsening mental health.
Forty-two percent of U.S.
adults say that money negatively impacts their
mental health, with 28% saying they worry about
their finances daily.
Many Americans tell us that some of their sources of
financial stress are as simple as looking at their
bank accounts or making purchases or talking about
money, thinking about money or your finances.
It can feel unavoidable with the approaching summer and
travel plans, holidays, gift buying.
All these things are really stressful and can trigger
concerns about finances.
Sometimes dealing with stress can worsen someone's
financial problems.
An April 2020 Credit Karma survey found that 35% of
respondents said that stress from the pandemic
made them impulse buy.
I was sad so I would shop and that led to me
accumulating over $30,000 of credit card debt.
And I had to figure out how the heck I was going to pay
that off.
Things are getting way more expensive and we want to
experience things and we want to live.
And so in order to provide some sort of happiness, I
was getting serotonin through shopping.
I started drinking more and I feel like eating more and
spending more. So you start doing those coping
mechanisms because you're stressed about money or
stressed in life somehow.
And so it was leading you down like a road that I
didn't want to be on, but I didn't know – I felt stuck.
I felt trapped.
Mental health issues can have serious consequences
for a person's overall well-being.
There is clear evidence that mental illness affects your
physical health.
We typically see stress manifest in two ways.
One are physical symptoms, so things like teeth,
grinding headaches, stomach discomfort, muscle tension.
The second is emotional responses.
So that can look like anxiety and stress,
difficulty sleeping, changes in your eating
patterns. And so when those come together and they are
unmanaged, that's where we see really negative physical
and emotional consequences.
Many people struggle with the shame of their financial
difficulties, and it's often a burden that's
carried alone in silence.
And in turn, people go to great lengths to hide their
financial difficulties, which further entrenches
them in their isolation.
And that isolation and burden can become so great
that people facing these difficulties are more likely
to experience suicidal thoughts and even make
suicide attempts as a way to escape from their
problems.
While there are many forces at play that are outside of
people's control, such as the rising cost of living,
there are steps Americans can take on their own to
help themselves feel more financially secure.
Experts say the first step is examining your mindset
around money.
I was constantly looking for like, how can I find hope in
this situation? Because you can have fear and scarcity,
especially nowadays.
It's so easy with the economy and inflation.
We're bombarded by it every day.
I'm like, There's not enough money.
There's not enough money. So it keeps us in a scarcity
mindset and that like fear around money.
Raised financial anxieties.
Myself and I had all the resources to actually take
action on my day or not even get into debt.
But yet, because of my mental health and because of
the environment I was in and because I didn't want to
take ownership of my finances, I had to face the
realness of my debt.
There are experts, such as therapists or money coaches,
who can help people deal with overwhelming feelings
as well as make a financial plan.
A money coach essentially is a partner in crime that you
have someone by your side that helps you hold yourself
accountable and provide you financial education at the
same time with guided actual steps forward to
reaching your financial goals.
I think the biggest reason there is shame tied to
finances because so much of our self-worth is tied to
what we have in a tangible way.
So people tend to relate their job or these external
markers of success numbers in their bank account with
their worth as a person, which is why it can be so
difficult to deal with financial issues and
especially seek out help for them.
It's also important to monitor your physical
health.
What is happening to us mentally?
It affects us physically.
Also, if you're not treating your depression and
anxiety well, you are probably not doing a great
job managing blood pressure and diabetes and other
chronic conditions.
I was kind of go back to the basics, which is to make
sure you're eating healthy, that you're getting enough
sleep, that you're staying active and that you're
staying socially connected.
The concept in mental health recovery is that a first
step is building hope.
We need to see that there's a path to recovery and
that things will get better.
And they usually do.
Invest in you.
Ready, set, grow.
CNBC and acorns.