29% of US adults anticipate their finances worsening in coming year: survey
34% of Americans thought things would improve for them financially in 2023
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About 29% of U.S. adults anticipate their personal finances worsening in the coming year, according to a recent survey.
The Bankrate.com survey, released Monday, found that figure breaks down into 18% who said they expected their financial situation to "get somewhat worse" in 2023 and11% who said "get significantly worse." More than a third of all respondents, 36%, indicated they thought it would remain roughly unchanged, according to the survey.
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Among the 66% of respondents who anticipated their personal finances wouldn’t see improvement in the coming year, the reason that many pointed was persistent inflation, according to Bankrate.com. About 63% cited it.
A couple reviews their finances inside their home. (iStock / iStock)
Consumer inflation has been hovering at painfully high levels for a while. FOX Business reported last week that it cooled slightly in November, going up 0.1% month over month and 7.1% year over year.
About 29% said "the work done by elected representatives" was the reason for them expecting their financial situations to either stay the same or get worse. Similar but slightly lower percentages cited stagnant wages or reduced income and changing interest rates, with 27% saying the former and 25% saying the latter, the survey found.
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The Federal Reserve has implemented multiple interest rate hikes this year as part of its efforts to reduce inflation, including four back-to-back 75-basis-point increases and – most recently, this month – a 50-basis-point one.
The debt that respondents have accrued, money generated from savings or investments and changes in life circumstances were among some of the other reasons they thought their finances wouldn't improve.
Meanwhile, 34% of all respondents had rosier outlooks for how they see things going for them financially in 2023. Almost a quarter (24%) of those Americans anticipated their situation would "get somewhat better" and 10% said "get significantly better," the survey showed.
According to the Bankrate.com survey, 34% of all respondents had rosier outlooks for how they see things going for them financially in 2023. (iStock / iStock)
The Bankrate.com survey reported that for Americans who anticipate their personal finances improving in 2023, the most-cited reason was earning more money at work, coming in at 41%.
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Behind that, top reasons were having less debt, at 30%; a change in life circumstances, at 25%; and generating more money from investments or savings, at 24%, according to the survey. "Lower levels of inflation" was cited by 19% of those who foresee their finances getting better in 2023.
A couple calculating financial bills at home.
Some other respondents either cited "other" or said they didn't know why they thought their finances would or would not improve when asked for reasons, according to Bankrate.com.
For 2023, overall survey respondents indicated their biggest financial goals were paying down debt, improving their budgeting and saving more in case of emergencies, per the Bankrate.com survey.
The survey, conducted for Bankrate by YouGov, took place Nov. 15-18 online and involved more than 3,600 U.S. adults.