Americans Stressed Over Money Matters

By Brent Meyer — SafeMoney.com Founder & Editor Reviewed by Licensed Financial Professionals  |  SafeMoney.com — Trusted Since 2011  |  Updated Regularly Quick Answer: Discover how financial stress affects Americans. Learn safe money alternatives for a secure retirement. Explore more at SafeMoney.com. Editor’s Note: This is the first part of a four-part series on financial literacy in the United States. You can find Part 1 of the series here . Stay tuned for more helpful articles on how you can reach the retirement you have worked hard to attain. If financial matters concern you, you aren’t alone. A recent survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Purchasing Power, reveals that 87% of survey participants who are employed full-time (or have a spouse employed full-time) are at least somewhat stressed about their current finances. And 25% of the people feeling the heat over money matters measure their stress level as either “quite a bit” or “a great deal” of stress. So what’s worrying everyone? Plenty. Household bills are the major cause of financial stress among the 900 participants in the Purchasing Power survey. The primary stress triggers, ranked in order, are: Household bills (mortgage/rent, utilities and transportation) – 47% Lack of funds to cover unexpected expenses (car and home repairs) – 43% Retirement planning (little/ no retirement savings, no post-employment plan) – 37% Healthcare expenses – 34% High credit balance – 30% Accumulating credit card debt – 29% Lifestyle changes (loss of/decrease in household income, elderly care) – 25% Education (tuition, daycare fees, student loan payments) – 21% In turn, these money stressors and others may have a profound impact on people’s quality of life. How Did We Get Here? As Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey famously sang in the movie “Cabaret,” money makes the world go around. But, in many cases, managing money, investing money, saving money, and growing money can be said to be largely self-taught, DIY skills. “Although the U.S. economy is healthy and the stock market continues to rise, employees are still stressed about their finances. Many struggle to pay their household bills because financially-fragile employees don’t necessarily benefit from these trends,” said Scott Rosenberg, Purchasing Power president. “The reason employees have financial issue