New AARP research found that 33 percent of adults age 30 and older said their financial situation is worse than it was a year ago, up from 22 percent in January. And 35 percent of adults age 65 and older said their financial situation is worse, up from 13 percent in January\u2014a 169 percent increase.<\/p>\n
A significant majority of adults age 30-plus\u00a0 <\/span>(78 percent) said they have adjusted their lifestyle or shopping habits due to inflation. Nearly half (49 percent) of women and 41 percent of men reported cutting back on basic expenses such as food and transportation, while 53 percent of women and 46 percent of men reported cutting back on \u2018extras.\u2019 These cuts, combined with a slowdown in consumer spending and the recent decline in consumer confidence, could translate to less spending this holiday season, the study said.<\/p>\n Growing debt could also contribute to a potential decrease in holiday purchases. The AARP survey found the average amount of credit card debt in July was just over $7,100, with more people attributing their credit card debt to everyday expenses in July (42 percent) than they did in January (35 percent). Roughly 4 in 10 respondents said their debt is unmanageable.<\/p>\n \u201cConsumers of all ages are feeling the impact of inflation. Many living on a fixed income have had to cut back on basics, while others have struggled with debt or delayed their retirement plans altogether,\u201d said Gary Koenig, vice president of financial security at AARP. \u201cRising prices not only impact consumer spending, it makes managing debt and saving for the future a steeper hill to climb.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/span>The study said additional key findings include:<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b>Large, unexpected expenses are the type of expense that cause the most worry with 62 percent of adults expressing concern. And 45 percent are worried about affording basic expenses, up from 38 percent in January.<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b>Women were more likely than men to be worried about both large, unexpected expenses and basic expenses.<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b>Among adults age 50 and older, 1 in 5 (21 percent) expect their financial situation to decline over the next year.<\/p>\n \u2022 <\/b>Among those who are not yet retired, more than half (52 percent) expect to either work in retirement or to never retire. Of those who expect to work in retirement, 3 in 4 (74 percent) cite financial reasons.<\/p>\n AARP\u2019s Financial Security Trends Survey examines how adults age 30 and older view their financial situation, including their ability to cover expenses, manage debt, and build savings for emergencies and retirement. This semiannual survey compares findings from July 2022 to those from January 2022.<\/p>\n This survey was conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago on behalf of AARP.\u00a0 <\/span>The most recent wave was conducted from July 12 through Aug. 1, with a total of 4,817 respondents. The first wave was conducted from Jan. 7 to Feb. 1, with a total of 6,162 respondents. For the general sample, data were collected online and by phone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" New AARP research found that 33 percent of adults age 30 and older said their financial situation is worse than it was a year ago, up from 22 percent in January. And 35 percent of adults age 65 and older said their financial situation is worse, up from 13 percent in January\u2014a 169 percent increase. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n