Seventy percent of US adults say they have cut back on spending for extras such as eating out, streaming services or other entertainment in the past year, according to a Pew Research Center analysis published October 14.
The finding comes from a survey of more than 5,000 US adults conducted this summer, as economic concerns dominate the run-up to the midterm elections.
Most adults say their income falls short
60% say they do not currently have enough income to lead the kind of life they want.
53% say they do not have emergency funds that would cover their expenses for three months, and 27% cannot pay some of their monthly bills or can only make partial payments.
Separately, 32% say they worry every day or almost every day about the cost of healthcare and the amount of debt they have.
A related Pew report released the same day found that many specifically mention prices and affordability as key concerns heading into the fall election cycle.
The underlying data comes from a new Pew Research Center survey based largely on 5,166 US adults conducted between 24 and 30 August, with some questions drawn from an earlier survey fielded in late July and early August.
Financial strain hits lower-income households hardest
The cutbacks are not evenly distributed. Pew’s data shows sharp gaps by income tier.
Among lower-income adults, 82% say they do not currently have enough income, 77% lack rainy day funds, and 49% cannot pay all of their monthly bills, compared with far smaller shares among upper-income households.
Pew researchers note that differences by income are large across nearly every measure in the survey.
Financial challenges are also more common among women, Black and Hispanic adults, young adults, and people without a four-year college degree, groups that are more likely to have lower family incomes.
That pattern echoes recent GCN reporting on how kitchen renovation spending is getting pulled back even as everyday purchases get trimmed first.
A mix of stress and resilience in how Americans feel about money
Despite the financial pressure, attitudes are not uniformly bleak. Americans have a mix of negative and positive views about their personal finances.
Those feelings vary considerably by family income tier: 58% of upper-income adults often feel content, 53% feel hopeful and 45% feel proud, while feeling stuck is the most common sentiment among lower-income adults at 43%.
Juliana Horowitz, Pew’s senior associate director of social trends research, said the findings reflect day-to-day struggles layered on top of longer-term worries.
“Many Americans are facing financial challenges in their daily lives, from struggling to pay for necessities to not being able to save for the future,” Horowitz said.
Spending cuts come as views on inequality harden
The spending data arrived alongside a companion Pew report on economic inequality, also released October 14.
That report found about six-in-ten Americans (61%) say there is too much economic inequality in the United States, a view that is far more common among Democrats and Democratic leaners than Republicans and GOP leaners (78% vs. 42%).
That overall share has barely moved since 2019, but attitudes about how to fix it have shifted.
Among those who see too much inequality, 35% now say no amount of economic inequality is acceptable, up from 29%, and 24% now say the economic system needs to be completely rebuilt in order to address this inequality, up from 14%.
Horowitz said the two sets of findings fit together. “Taken together, these findings provide a window into how Americans are experiencing the economy and thinking about its broader impact,” Horowitz said.
The pullback on discretionary spending tracks with other consumer behavior GCN has reported this year, including diners ordering less even as restaurant visits hold steady.
Pew’s survey suggests that trend extends well beyond restaurant tables, touching streaming subscriptions, entertainment and other everyday extras that households are increasingly willing to trim.
