21 Jun 2024Read of the weekAmerican HNWI’s Live ‘Paycheck To Paycheck’
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Research indicates that even high-income Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, highlighting the significant impact of inflation on personal finances. As purchasing power declines and discretionary spending stays low, many are opting to trade down or delay major purchases.

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J’Nae PhillipsJ'Nae Phillips is a Senior Insights Editor at Canvas8. After an early career working in fashion and media, her passion for culture and journalism grew and she made the transition to writing and editing full-time. She specialises in fashion, trends, cultural shifts and all of the good stuff that gets people talking.

High earners are being forced to tighten budgets according to a report from data analytics platform PYMNTS. The data reveals that 62% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, including 48% who earn more than $100,000 annually. The same is even true for 36% of those earning over $200,000 a year, flouting conventional wisdom about the amount of money people need to be comfortable.

Of these high earners, 17% blame bad saving habits as the top reason they’re living paycheck to paycheck, pointing to a need for financial education even among the upper-middle class and above. And as the cost of living continues to rise, even wealthier consumers are looking to save money where they can and trading down in order to do so.

For example, 28% of those who earn over $100,000 report cutting down on the quality of the products they buy because of price increases. Spending is down even in conventionally recession-proof US markets like luxury, where spending has fallen 7%, a marked decrease from a growth of 15% the year prior. As economic concerns start to affect even wealthy and high-earning consumers, financial knowledge-sharing tools like Goalsetter and Douugh are helping people get a grip on their finances.