About half of adults are worried about personal finances, a new survey across several advanced economies has found.
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At least half of adults in a number of major economies say they are stressed about their personal finances, citing inflation as a top reason.
According to the International Your Money Financial Security Survey conducted by SurveyMonkey, many say they feel worse off financially than their parents and are pessimistic about their children's financial future.
In the US, Australia, Spain and Mexico, around 70% of adults said they were “very or somewhat stressed” about money. The percentage fell slightly to 63% in the UK, 57% in Germany, 55% in Switzerland and about half of people in Singapore and France.
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In these countries, between half and two-thirds of people said they considered themselves part of the middle class – except in the UK, where the proportion was less than 37%.
But while the middle class is traditionally considered financially wealthy, between 45 and 62 percent of those who identify in this group described themselves as “living paycheck to paycheck.”
Half of adults in Australia, Germany and the UK said they were worse off than they were five years ago.
Meanwhile, among the countries surveyed, only adults in Singapore and Mexico were more likely to say they were better off financially than their parents.
Inflation was often cited as the cause of financial stress, along with a lack of savings, economic instability and rising interest rates.
The study of 4,342 adults was conducted in March and published on Wednesday.
“Although the health of the global economy is subdued in some areas, it is not reflected in the average citizen's perception…Despite the great economic performance, about half of adults in every country are concerned about their personal finances around the world surveyed” said SurveyMonkey CEO Eric Johnson in an accompanying article.
Global economic growth is slowing, but most developed economies have avoided the recessions predicted due to high inflation and interest rate hikes. Labor markets have proven resilient, but numerous surveys point to a gloomy mood among consumers, hit hard by increases in the price of household bills and essential goods.