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People in the US are stressed about their finances — what about other countries?
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Money may not look the same in different countriesbut its impact is the same almost everywhere. No matter where you live, money can solve many problems when you have and leave you stressed when you don’t.
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A recent CNBC/SurveyMonkey survey found that 70% of Americans feel “very or somewhat stressed” about their personal finances now. More than half (52%) said their financial stress has increased since before March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused massive job losses and economic uncertainty.
People in other countries aren’t as stressed about money as the average American, but it’s still pretty close. SurveyMonkey found that at least half of adults worldwide are stressed about personal financeswith inflation named as the top financial stressor. The survey was conducted in March and included participants in the US, Mexico, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Singapore, France and Australia.
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) cite price increase as a contributing factor to financial stress, according to the survey. Other countries at the top of the list include Australia (62%), France (62%) and Germany (66%), while there is slightly less stress about inflation in Singapore (46%), Mexico (56%), the UK (51%), Spain (55%) and Switzerland (48%).
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While seven in 10 adults in the U.S. say they are “very or somewhat stressed” about their personal finances, Americans are not alone in this regard. Similar percentages were reported in Mexico (73%), Australia (70%) and Spain (72%). In contrast, less than half (49%) of adults in Singapore report the same level of stress. Here are some other highlights from the SurveyMonkey survey:
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63% of adults in the UK say they are stressed about their personal finances.
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More than half of adults in Germany (57%) and Switzerland (55%) are stressed about their personal finances.
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France has the lowest percentage of adults reporting financial stress, with less than half (48%) saying they are “very or somewhat stressed.”
In terms of how finances have progressed, nearly half of adults in Mexico (47%) and Singapore (49%) say their financial situation is better now than it was five years ago. That’s nearly double the number who say it’s worse. But in most other countries, finances have gone in the other direction.
The story continues
About half of adults in Australia (51%), Germany (51%) and the United Kingdom (51%) say their financial situation is worse now than it was five years ago. Slightly less than half of adults in the U.S. (45%), France (42%) and Switzerland (44%) say the same.
In addition to inflation, other common financial stressors around the world include the following, according to SoFi:
Strong economic growth can go a long way toward relieving financial stress because it often means more jobs and better-paying jobs. But much of the world is not optimistic about their country’s economic prospects.
Nearly two-thirds of adults in the U.K. (63%), Spain (64%), France (62%) and Germany (66%) are “very or somewhat pessimistic” about their country’s economic outlook, according to SurveyMonkey. Adults in the U.S. are evenly divided on the topic, with 49% optimistic and 51% pessimistic.
On a more positive note, majorities of adults in Mexico (74%) and Singapore (79%) are “very or somewhat optimistic” about where their country’s economy is headed. Majorities of adults in Switzerland feel the same, with 57% of respondents expressing optimism about the future.
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This article was originally published in GOBankingRates.com: People in the US are stressed about their finances — what about other countries?