American households are squeezed on every front in 2026

Debt at historic highs, homeownership increasingly out of reach, and parents stretched to the breaking point. These are some of the financial pressures facing American families right now.

With inflation making a renewed comeback and total household debt standing at $18.8 trillion, a record, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the picture is concerning.

Meanwhile, the personal saving rate has fallen to just 3%, its lowest level since inflation peaked in mid-2022, per the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

'A major feat of financial engineering'

The pressure on parents is particularly acute. A new BMO survey of 2,500 US adults found that 82% of parents say the costs of raising children have "gotten out of control."

A further 79% of all respondents say they wonder how people around them can afford to have families at all.

Parents with children under 18 estimate annual spending of $5,498 on groceries, $3,331 on family travel, and $2,469 on childcare and daycare, with healthcare, college savings, and extracurriculars adding thousands more.

Food at home has become 33% more expensive since 2019, growing five times faster than in the previous seven years combined, according to US Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited in the BMO report.

"Raising kids has always been a labor of love, but right now, it is also a major feat of financial engineering," said Robin Growley, US head of consumer products at BMO.

The strain extends into savings and retirement. Some 86% of parents say everyday parenting costs are negatively affecting their ability to save for their children's futures, while 72% of dual-income households report regular financial stress.

Some 45% of parents identify as part of the sandwich generation — simultaneously supporting children and aging parents.

Some 76% of parents believe extended family financial support is now essential to their children's opportunities, and 37% of parents with young children expect to receive financial help from their own parents or grandparents within the next year.

Among those receiving help, 47% are getting cash for day-to-day expenses and 43% rely on grandparents for childcare.

Money secrets and delayed milestones

Financial pressure is also reshaping how Americans relate to one another.

The new TD Bank US Love & Money Survey polled 2,000 adults and found that 59% of respondents have felt scared or embarrassed discussing finances with a partner, and 68% feel pressure to appear more financially successful than they actually are.

Three in ten Americans admitted to hiding a purchase or financial decision from a spouse, partner, or family member.

The concealed items range from bad credit scores (21%) and credit card debt (16%) to gambling habits (14%) and secret bank accounts (11%). Nearly a quarter said someone close to them had hidden finances from them.

"Money isn't just influencing financial decisions; it's influencing relationship dynamics," said Marc Womack, head of client experience at TD Bank US.

Some 75% of poll participants said they had delayed at least one major life milestone because of finances.

Paying off debt topped the list of deferred goals at 23%, followed by travel (21%), buying a car or a home (17% each), and saving for retirement (15%).

Generationally, the strain falls hardest on the young: 85% of Gen Z respondents said they had delayed a milestone, compared to 57% of baby boomers.

Debt counseling hits a decade high

The cumulative weight of these pressures is pushing a record number of Americans toward professional help.

Money Management International (MMI), one of the largest nonprofit credit counseling agencies in the country, reported that enrollments in its debt management plans reached a record high in the first half of 2026, the highest in a dataset going back to 2017. Financial counseling sessions rose 9.5% year-over-year and have surged 143% since the first half of 2021.

"Americans continue to wrestle with high inflation and elevated interest rates," said Ted Rossman, principal consumer finance analyst at MMI, based in Stafford, Texas. "Many households have depleted their savings and accumulated record amounts of debt, stretching their budgets and causing them to search for solutions."

Millennials make up the largest share of MMI's client base at 43%, carrying an average unsecured debt of $40,900. Gen X clients carry even more at $48,171.

However, Gen Z is the fastest-growing segment (up 35% year-over-year) with average unsecured balances rising 12% from 2025 to $20,152.

Among MMI clients, New York ($43,032), Virginia ($41,691), and Texas ($40,860) carry the highest average unsecured debt balances. Nearly half of its new clients carry unsecured personal loans, a 10-point increase since 2020.

Despite consumers' intentions to use these loans to pay down higher-rate credit card balances, the nonprofit has found the approach frequently backfires: many clients continue accumulating revolving debt alongside their new installment obligations and eventually return for counseling when they can no longer obtain another loan.

AI steps in where advisors aren't

One notable signal threading through this data is the growing role of artificial intelligence in personal finance.

Thousands of distressed consumers navigated directly from ChatGPT to MMI's website in the first half of 2026, with a threefold increase since ChatGPT launched its personal finance experience in May 2026, building on a sixfold increase in AI-referred traffic MMI observed in all of 2025. Those clients move through debt counseling enrollment at the highest rate of any referral channel.

The BMO survey finds a parallel trend among parents: 23% are already using AI tools to manage family finances, including 30% of millennials. While 78% worry about how AI will affect their children's future earning capacity, 42% believe it will ultimately better prepare the next generation for financial success.