81
Nearly a quarter of U.S. households live paycheck to paycheck, report finds (www.cbsnews.com)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/economics@lemmy.world
17 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

A growing share of lower-income Americans are struggling to get by financially as their wages fail to keep up with inflation, according to a recent analysis.

Roughly 29% of lower-income households are living paycheck to paycheck, up slightly from 2024 and from 27.1% in 2023, data from the Bank of America Institute shows. The financial firm defines that as spending more than 95% of household income on necessities such as housing, gasoline, groceries, utility bills and internet service.

In 2025, nearly a quarter of all U.S. households lived paycheck to paycheck, Bank of America estimates.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[+] -10 points 1 year ago* (13 children)

Cutting out Uber Eats, restaurants, and bars goes a long way to paying down debt (groceries are so much cheaper). Even the people in giant holes on Caleb Hammer’s show walk away with a budget to kill their debt.

Credit card debt is fucking murder. The interest is worse than many realize. Murder it so it doesn’t murder you.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 13 child comments
    •
  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Ohhhh, just stop buying iPhones and avocado toast, why didn't I think of that? It seems so simple in hindsight!

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [+] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)
    [deleted]
  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    I agree. Even "lazy" home cooking (frozen meals, Ramen, frozen pizza) is always cheaper than restaraunts.

    One of the best things I ever did for myself, IMO, was making a budgeting spreadsheet. Except for a basic =SUM() tile showing how much I've earned minus what I've spent, it's all manual, nothing is automatically filled in and I have to really reflec and be honest to myself about every purchase I make. Everything gets logged. I don't know how much I was spending/earning before the spreadsheet (obviously) but I just know that I'm budgeting smarter with one.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [+] 3 points 1 year ago (4 children)
    [deleted]
  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Don’t carry credit card debt, the interest eviscerates your finances. It is a fact much of America does not take to heart.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    When you've got rent to pay and mouths to feed, and paychecks dont arrive for another week (or more), sometimes it's a necessity. And when emergencies arrive (as happens more and more often) people at this financial level generally dont have the "rainy day" fund to lean on.

    This is not exclusively a personal issue, it is mainly a systemic one. Sure, many people could do with some better financial literacy and personal responsibility... but that's nowhere near the epidemic of parasitic opportunists eager to squeeze dry every person they can. The desperate being the easiest to exploit, in most cases.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    paychecks dont arrive for another week (or more), sometimes it’s a necessity

    Absolutely. And then when the bill comes in six weeks, pay the balance.

    Credit card use is fine, carrying a balance on credit cards is what eviscerates your finances.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    And more bills come in to pay in that six weeks. And mouths still need feed and heads still need roofing.

    "Just pay the balance" is great advice... if you actually have the money to do so. Most people in these situations don't. Which is why they're in that position in the first place. Suggesting otherwise is exceedingly out of touch with reality.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Good thing you didn't read the post, which defined living paycheck to paycheck as spending 95% of your income on necessities like housing and food. You think these people are blowing money at the bars? Lol. If anything they're getting a bottle of bottom shelf shit and drinking alone in the dark.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent