Facing Financial Challenges: A Survey of U.S. Workers

Money Anxiety

58% of respondents admitted they had financial stressors. The highest levels of money-related stress were reported by participants without a college degree (75%), master’s degree holders (75%) and employees of small companies (72%). Conversely, the self-employed (39%) and healthcare industry workers (39%) showed the lowest financial stress.

What causes all that stress around finances? To get the bigger picture, we asked a series of more detailed questions regarding money anxiety.

Credit card debt (34%), building one’s emergency savings account (21%) and saving for retirement (30%) were the top financial stressors reported. But the list doesn’t end there. Here’s the full breakdown of the answers.

What are your biggest financial stressors?

• Credit card debt – 34% [men — 42% vs. women — 23%]
• Building my emergency savings account – 32% [men — 37% vs. women — 29%]
• Saving for retirement – 30%
• Caregiving responsibilities create a financial strain on me – 28%
• Cost of living – 26%
• Ensuring that I can pay for my future healthcare needs – 25%
• Fear of recession – 25%
• Student loans – 23% [men — 30% vs. women — 17%]
• Inflation – 19% [men — 25% vs. women — 14%]
• Not earning enough money – 17%
• Not being as disciplined about my finances as perhaps I could be – 17%
• Not having access to workplace benefits [e.g., health/dental/vision insurance, paid time off, disability insurance] – 15%

As you see, men seemed more stressed by money-related issues than women. Apart from that, there were no disparities within other demographic groups to report.

Digging deeper, we also discovered that the vast majority of respondents felt concerned about inflation and recession.

• 74% claimed that inflation was having an impact on their career decisions – 41% said they were actively looking for a new job with a higher salary in their current field, and another 35% that they were currently looking for a new job with a higher salary in a different field. The percentage was even higher in the case of the answers given by healthcare industry workers, with 88% stating inflation as a factor influencing their professional life choices.
• Similarly, 75% considered a recession an important factor contributing to their career decisions, with 40% saying they tried to negotiate a higher salary with their current employer and another 40% saying they plan to negotiate. Once more, the perceived influence of a recession on professional life choices was noticeably greater for respondents working in the healthcare industry, with 85% acknowledging its significance.

For some, financial anxieties stem from a lack of self-discipline in dealing with money. For others, it’s fear of being unable to pay for their children’s college education or rising food prices. And though the individual concerns may vary greatly in scope, Resume Now’s study revealed an alarming sense of worry and stress around money and finances among participants.

What’s (Un)Affordable to You?

We also investigated what surveyed participants could afford. Let the numbers speak for themselves.

Only 37% could afford an unexpected expense of $400. Also, almost 6 in 10 (58%) couldn’t afford to buy a new pair of shoes today.

Here’s the full breakdown of the answers:

What could you afford?

• To buy a new pair of shoes today – 42%
• To go on vacation within two months from now – 41%
  [software/IT — 50% vs. healthcare — 30%]
• To go to the movie theater next weekend – 39%
• To go to the dentist next month – 38%
• An unexpected expense of $400 – 37%
  [men — 43% vs. women — 31%]
• An unexpected expense of $800 – 35%

With 95% of respondents defining their financial situation as at least stable, it’s a huge discrepancy.

Strategies for Overcoming Financial Struggles

Is there anything you can do to regain control of your financial well-being?

Let’s find out how respondents deal with financial challenges.

• 87% had to take on at least one side job in the last six months for financial reasons. 32% of those had taken on multiple side jobs. The percentage increased to 50% in the case of participants without a college degree.
• Overall, only 7% of all survey takers did not have to take such a step as starting a side job.

Still, finding sources of extra income is not the only option to improve one’s financial situation. Participants were asked, “Have you taken any of these steps regarding your finances in the last six months?” and could choose all the options that applied. Here’s what they answered:

• Used my emergency savings – 33%
• Picked up extra work/hours – 29%
• Borrowed from friends or family – 27%
• Withdrew from my retirement savings – 24%
• Relied on credit [loans, credit cards, lines of credit] to cover any potential shortfalls – 23%
• Redirected or sold non-retirement investments – 21%
• Delayed a major purchase [such as a car] – 20%
• Stopped or reduced contributions to my retirement savings – 20%
• Filed for unemployment – 18%
• Other – 2%

Using emergency savings turns out to be the most common strategy while facing financial struggles. But how far can the average worker stretch their emergency savings?

Respondents shared what would happen if they started using their emergency savings without changing their lifestyle.

If you needed to use your emergency savings, how long do you think it would last you [if you maintained your current lifestyle]?

• Less than one month – 6%
• Two to three months – 21%
• Four to six months – 38%
• Six to 12 months – 25%
• One to two years – 9%
• Three years or more – 1%

Summing up, a full 65% of survey takers believe they would run out of money in six months at most. 

The Role of Financial Transparency From Job Seekers’ Perspective

Not surprisingly, as more and more people seek additional sources of income, job seekers are becoming increasingly impatient. To save time and effort, most applicants focus their job search on listings with specified salary ranges.

84% of participants believed that job postings should always include a salary range. Additionally, 45% claimed they were unwilling to apply to job listings without a salary range. Financial transparency is a valuable resource in a job market plagued by uncertainty.

A Few Words Before You Go

Our connection with money is a lifelong partnership that requires constant care and understanding. For good and for bad.

Sources

• Bennet, R., “Most Americans Are Significantly Stressed about Money — Here’s How It Varies by Demographic”
• Keeter, S., “Many Americans Continue to Experience Mental Health Difficulties as Pandemic Enters Second Year”
• Thrive Global and Discover, “Thriving Wallet Survey”
• White, A., “90% Of Americans Say Money Impacts Their Stress Level, According to Survey”