The following is an excerpt from Gallup.

Americans are more likely today than they were a year ago to report being “very” or “moderately worried” about several aspects of their finances, reversing the improvement seen last year.

People’s concern has increased the most about paying their monthly bills (up eight percentage points to 40%) and maintaining the standard of living they enjoy (up seven points to 52%).

But concern has also increased, by five points, on paying one’s rent or mortgage (35%), making minimum payments on credit cards (22%) and having enough money for retirement (63%).

Meanwhile, there has been little change in the percentages of U.S. adults worried about paying medical costs for normal healthcare (43%), paying medical costs for a serious health illness or accident (56%), or paying for a child’s college education (36%).

• The 52% now worried about maintaining their standard of living is four points higher than in 2020 and is the first time since 2016 that a majority has had this fear.

• The 63% currently worried about having enough for retirement exceeds the 59% recorded in 2020 and marks the first time since 2016 that more than six in 10 have been this concerned about their retirement.

Despite holding steady, Americans’ concern about affording expenses for a serious medical event is second only to retirement security in Americans’ rank-order of concerns.

Affording college is among the lower concerns for adults as a whole but is a top-tier concern for those with children, with 72% of parents worried. (Continued)

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