Inflation has been hitting 40-year highs since 2021. But Americans were able to pay off credit card debt and stash away savings thanks to federal stimulus programs, relieving the immediate sharp pinch of rising prices.
As these programs disappeared, though, so has that savings cushion—and with it, nearly two-thirds of Americans report they’re living paycheck-to-paycheck as of December 2022. The number of U.S. adults who said they have no money left over at the end of December is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.
