Americans are more stressed about money than ever, and it’s hurting our mental health

Americans are more stressed about money than they’ve ever been, according to the American Psychological Association’s latest Stress In America Survey.

“Eighty-seven percent of Americans said that inflation and the rising costs of everyday goods is what’s driving their stress,” said Vaile Wright, senior director of health care innovation at the American Psychological Association.

More than 40% of U.S. adults say money is negatively impacting their mental health, according to Bankrate’s April 2022 Money and Mental Health report.

“I was in debt off and on all of my 20s and early 30s,” Tawnya Schultz, founder of The Money Life Coach, told CNBC. “I was in this debt cycle of trying to get out of debt, paying off debt, getting back into it. And I was just tired of feeling like I could never get out of it or feeling like I was always going to have debt.”

Some Americans lack hope they will ever have enough money to retire, with roughly 40% saying their ability to be financially secure in retirement is “going to take a miracle,” according to the 2021 Natixis Global Retirement Index.

“I think that people need to have a sense of hope,” said Mark Hamrick, Washington bureau chief at Bankrate. “When the economy is working for them, there’s a greater likelihood that people will have hope that they can accomplish their basic personal financial objectives.”

Watch the video above to learn why Americans are more stressed than ever about money and how it’s impacting their mental health.

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