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.
