Making ends meet a worry even for America's high earners

Making ends meet in the coming year is a rising concern for US consumers, including among those who make $100,000 or more a year, according to a survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

More than a third of consumers in the survey said they were concerned about making ends meet in the next six months, compared to 28.7% from a year ago. The share of those reporting concern over the next seven to 12 months also climbed. 

Among those able to pay their bills in full in April, more than a quarter said they worry about the next six months, up from a fifth the year before. Higher earners were the most likely of the income groups to be in that category: about 30% of those making at least $150,000 reported being concerned about their finances in the next six months.   

More than two thirds of respondents took some kind of action to cope with increased financial stress over the last year, such as cutting back on spending, skipping monthly bills, or taking an additional job. More than 14% of those earning $150,000 and up said they withdrew money early from their retirement savings.

The share of people already having trouble with their bills is also ticking up, according to the survey of 5,000 US consumers conducted by the Philadelphia Fed from March 22 to April 6. 

When asked about their ability to cover their expenses, 22.5% of respondents indicated that they couldn’t pay some or any of their bills in April. That’s up 2.7 percentage points from a year earlier. Among more affluent consumers the share having trouble more than doubled from 3.4% to 6.9%.