“Money, money, money, must be fun in the world of the rich.”
While ABBA is generally right about most things, money isn’t always fun for the upper middle class. At least if you ask them.
“Ask the Rich” is exactly what Edelman Financial Engines, which surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. adults about their wealth status, did. It turns out that even the wealthy are a little nervous these days, with only 44 percent feeling “very happy” with their finances. That’s still double the total number of respondents, with just 23 percent across all socioeconomic groups saying the same.
What’s more, no one feels rich. Overall, only 12 percent of Americans consider themselves rich, and even 29 percent of true millionaires say they don’t. Add to that frustration with the status quo: 60% of respondents said they believed they should be more financially secure at this point in their lives.
Jason van der Loo, director of wealth planning and marketing at Edelman Financial Engines, said: “For many people, worries about money can overwhelm basic facts, which often leads to confusion, frustration, and financial planning based on emotion rather than reason. Long-term planning to make financial decisions.”
In fact, inflation has made Americans feel that the purchasing power of money has decreased, but this is not the case. According to a report from the Lending Club in the summer of 2022, even the rich are living the paycheck-to-pay lifestyle.
Americans are cutting back because of deep inflation: 80 percent of respondents said they were making sacrifices to cope with rising costs of living, a figure that fell slightly among wealthy Americans, with 75 percent of wealthy Americans People say they are making sacrifices to cope with the rising cost of living.
But maybe the rich shouldn’t be so insecure? Executive salaries have risen in response to rising living costs. It’s a different story for other workers, as middle-income earners are forced to dip into their COVID-19 savings to make up the shortfall from their stagnant wages. While wealthy Americans worry about inflation, they are much better off than those in lower income brackets. People in the lower income brackets have lower incomes and have to further stretch their salaries to meet basic needs.
But the moral of the story is that no one is immune to financial anxiety—even if you’re a millionaire planning your finances in your second home. (Fortune Chinese website)
Translator: Zhong Huiyan-Wang Fang
“Money, money, money, must be funny, in a rich man’s world.”
While ABBA is usually right about most things, money doesn’t always feel that funny to the upper-middle class. At least if you ask them.
And ask the rich is exactly what Edelman Financial Engines did, surveying more than 2,000 adults from the US about their money. It turns out that even the rich are a little nervous these days, as only 44% report feeling “very comfortable” about their finances. That’s still twice as many as the total respondents, with only 23% across all socio-economic groups reporting the same sentiment.
What’s more, nobody feels rich. Overall, just 12% of Americans view themselves as wealthy, and even 29% of actual millionaires say they don’t feel rich. And then there are the feelings of disappointment over the state of things: six in 10 respondents said they thought they’d be more financially secure at this point in their lives.
“For many people, worries about money can override basic facts, which can often lead to confusion, frustration, and making financial decisions that are based on emotion rather than a sound, long-term plan,” says Jason Van de Loo, head of Wealth planning and marketing at Edelman Financial Engines.
Indeed, inflation has made Americans feel like their money isn’t going as far, because, well, it’s not. Even the wealthy are living from paycheck to paycheck, according to a report from Lending Club in 2022 summer.
As a result of this rampant inflation, Americans are cutting back: 80% of all respondents said they are making sacrifices in response to the rising cost of living, a number that slightly dips down for wealthy Americans to 75%.
But maybe the rich shouldn’t feel so insecure? Executives have seen their pay increase in order to compete with the rising cost of living. The same can’t be said for the rest of workers, as middle-income individuals are forced to dip into their pandemic-era savings in order to cover the shortcut from their stagnant salaries. And while wealthy Americans are worried about inflation, they’re much better off than those in lower income brackets who are paid less and have to stretch their paychecks further just to cover the basics.
But the moral of this story is that no one is immune to financial anxiety—even if you’re a millionaire planning your finances from your second home.
This article is reproduced from: https://www.fortunechina.com/shangye/c/2023-01/04/content_425552.htm
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