Rising gas prices and inflation hitting three-year highs in April have Americans feeling a lot of things, but financial fulfillment? That’s likely not one of them.
Some 16 percent of consumers say they feel financially fulfilled, according to a survey by accounting company Edward Jones and polling firm Gallup. The survey, which included 5,075 U.S. adults, based financial fulfillment on at least 30 positive responses to 37 areas such as financial security, goals and attitudes toward money.
“Financial fulfillment is a state that relatively few adults … achieved,” the study said. “It is more common among those who have greater financial resources and have had longer time horizons to build wealth.”
The study found that financial fulfillment rose as income increased, highlighting the power of income disparities that punctuate the struggles of the country’s lower and middle classes. The nation’s top 1 percent of households hold nearly 32 percent of the nation’s wealth, according to the most recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Only 3 percent of those earning less than $35,000 felt fulfilled, compared to 37 percent of those earning $175,000 or more. Middle-class financial fulfillment, which the study classified as those earning $35,000 to $174,999, ranged from 10 percent to 23 percent.
The wide gap in fulfillment between the lower and upper classes in the United States points to the impact wealth has on multiple aspects of daily life.
Recent studies have found that happiness increases with income up to $90,000. After that, it levels off. However, well-being in other areas continues to increase past $90,000. In general, wealthier individuals have better mental and physical health and longer lifespans.
Meanwhile, those in the lower and middle classes tend to have higher stress and anxiety about money. Their lifespans are shorter, research notes, and they have a higher risk of heart disease.
On the consumer side, even those earning more than $100,000 a year are looking for ways to save money. Shoppers are flocking to affordable retailers such as Walmart and Dollar General – both companies saw healthy sales numbers through the first three months of the year.
Whether the short-term affordability crisis Americans are facing will end soon likely depends on the duration of the war in Iran. Since the war started on February 28, gas prices have jumped from $2.98 to more than $4.00.
Overall, the war has cost Americans an additional $750 in additional costs to households because of price increases, according to Moody’s Analytics.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the administration’s main focus in Iran is to stop the threat of nuclear weapons, often saying a peace deal is more important than consumers’ financial situation.
