55% of Americans Say Their Finances Are Getting Worse

A client called me a few weeks ago sounding genuinely shaken. She’d just seen a headline: a record share of Americans say their financial situation is getting worse. Her business was doing fine. Her savings rate hadn’t changed. But the headline still landed like a gut punch.

“Should I be worried?” she asked.

Here’s what I told her — and it’s worth sharing with you too, because the data behind that headline tells a more useful story than the headline itself.

The numbers are real, and they’re historic.

According to Gallup’s most recent Economy and Personal Finance survey, 55% of Americans now say their financial situation is getting worse — the highest share Gallup has recorded since it began tracking this question in 2001. That’s higher than during the 2008 financial crisis. Higher than during the COVID-19 pandemic. This marks the fifth consecutive year that more Americans report worsening finances than improving ones — a streak with no modern precedent outside the Great Recession.

The specific worries paint a clear picture: 62% fear not having enough money for retirement, up from prior years. 60% worry about being unable to cover medical costs from a serious illness. 28% are worried about making minimum payments on their credit cards — up 11 percentage points since 2021. And separately, the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement found that 67% of Americans are now more worried about running out of money than they are about dying — up 10 points in just a year.

That’s not background noise. That’s a population feeling genuinely disoriented.

Here’s the part that matters most: this isn’t just about the economy. It’s about clarity.

If you looked only at the objective numbers — credit card delinquencies, unemployment, inflation — the picture is real but mixed, not uniformly catastrophic. So why does the anxiety feel so much bigger than the data alone explains?

Because financial anxiety isn’t just a function of your net worth. It’s a function of whether you know where you stand.

A 2026 Fidelity Investments study found that 83% of people with a written financial plan feel confident about retirement — compared to just 38% of people without one. Charles Schwab found nearly the same pattern: 96% of people with a written financial plan feel confident about reaching their financial goals, and yet only about a third of people actually have one in place.

Read that gap again. The confidence isn’t coming from having more money. It’s coming from having a plan.

And working with an advisor doesn’t just build the plan — it measurably reduces the anxiety itself.

This isn’t a vague industry talking point. Vanguard’s most recent Emotional & Time Value of Advice survey put real numbers on it:

• 86% of advised investors report having more peace of mind about their finances than they did managing things on their own — rising to 88% among clients working with a human advisor.
• Advised investors are roughly half as likely to experience high financial stress compared with people managing their finances alone — 14% versus 27%.
• Among people working with a human advisor, 79% reported a decrease in negative emotions — anxiety, worry, sadness, and feeling overwhelmed — and 71% reported an increase in confidence and security.

Vanguard’s separate Advisor’s Alpha research — now in its 25th year — has consistently found that behavioral coaching (the discipline of helping clients stay the course instead of reacting emotionally to headlines and market swings) can add up to 2% in additional net portfolio value annually. Vanguard describes advisors as “emotional circuit breakers” — the person who interrupts the spiral before a bad headline turns into a bad decision.

So here’s the honest answer I gave my client:

The 55% of Americans who feel their finances are worsening aren’t wrong to feel something. Costs are genuinely up. Uncertainty is elevated. But the data is equally clear that the anxiety gap between “having money” and “feeling okay about your money” isn’t closed by earning more — it’s closed by having a plan, and having someone in your corner who helps you stick to it when the headlines get loud.

If you don’t have a current, written plan, click Book A Meeting.

FAQ: Financial Anxiety and the Value of a Financial Plan

1. What percentage of Americans say their financial situation is getting worse?

According to Gallup's most recent Economy and Personal Finance survey, 55% of Americans say their financial situation is getting worse — the highest share Gallup has recorded since it began tracking the question in 2001, higher than during either the 2008 financial crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic. This marks the fifth consecutive year that more Americans report worsening finances than improving ones.

2. What are Americans most worried about financially right now?

The most common financial worries include not having enough money for retirement (62%), being unable to cover medical costs from a serious illness (60%), and difficulty making minimum credit card payments (28%, up 11 percentage points since 2021). Separately, the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement found that 67% of Americans are now more worried about running out of money than they are about dying, up 10 points in a single year.

3. Does having a written financial plan actually reduce financial anxiety?

Yes, and the data shows a substantial gap. A 2026 Fidelity Investments study found that 83% of people with a written financial plan feel confident about retirement, compared to just 38% of people without one. Charles Schwab found a similar pattern: 96% of people with a written financial plan feel confident about reaching their financial goals — yet only about a third of people actually have one in place.

4. Does working with a financial advisor actually reduce financial stress, or is that just marketing?

The research shows a measurable effect, not just anecdotal benefit. Vanguard's Emotional & Time Value of Advice survey found that advised investors are roughly half as likely to experience high financial stress compared with people managing their finances alone — 14% versus 27%. Among clients working with a human advisor specifically, 79% reported a decrease in negative emotions like anxiety and worry, and 71% reported an increase in confidence and security.

5. What percentage of people feel more peace of mind after working with a financial advisor?

Vanguard's research found that 86% of advised investors report having more peace of mind about their finances than they did managing things on their own, rising to 88% specifically among clients working with a human advisor rather than a robo-advisor alone.

6. What is "behavioral coaching," and how does it add value beyond investment returns?

Behavioral coaching refers to the discipline an advisor provides in helping clients stay the course during market volatility instead of reacting emotionally to headlines or short-term swings. Vanguard's Advisor's Alpha research — now in its 25th year — has consistently found that this behavioral guidance can add up to 2% in additional net portfolio value annually, functioning as what Vanguard calls an "emotional circuit breaker" that interrupts a spiral before a bad headline turns into a costly financial decision.

7. If the economy isn't actually in a crisis, why does financial anxiety feel so high?

Objective economic indicators — credit card delinquencies, unemployment, inflation — currently paint a real but mixed picture, not a uniformly catastrophic one. The gap between how people feel and what the data shows often comes down to clarity: financial anxiety isn't purely a function of net worth, it's a function of whether someone knows exactly where they stand financially and has a concrete plan in place.

8. What's the fastest way to reduce financial anxiety if I don't currently have a plan?

The research points to two connected steps: building a current, written financial plan, and working with an advisor who provides ongoing behavioral guidance rather than a one-time document. The data shows the confidence gain doesn't come from having more money — it comes specifically from having clarity and a plan, which is why people with a written plan consistently report dramatically higher financial confidence than those without one, regardless of their account balance.