{"id":382556,"date":"2026-01-02T00:16:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T00:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/382556\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T00:16:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T00:16:10","slug":"inflation-personal-health-2026-anxiety-could-surge-in-2026-as-americans-brace-for-economic-decline-survey-reveals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/382556\/","title":{"rendered":"Inflation, personal health 2026: Anxiety could surge in 2026 as Americans brace for economic decline, survey reveals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">RALEIGH, N.C.  (WTVD) &#8212; A Garner mother is preparing to return to work on Monday after welcoming her third child and using up the last of her maternity leave.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">While Chantelle Aquila is excited about her family&#8217;s new addition, she is also concerned about the rising costs of living and inflation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;My biggest concern is to see just how much food is going to cost again,&#8221; Aquila said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The start of 2026 has brought renewed financial anxiety for many, with concerns about the economy on the rise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">According to a <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bankrate.com\/banking\/financial-outlook-survey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">recent Bank Rate survey,<\/a> fewer Americans expect their finances to improve this year compared to two years ago. The survey revealed that 32% anticipate their financial situation will worsen, while 78% predict further declines next year, often attributing this outlook to high inflation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">David Weiss, a financial advisor at Weston Banks, said<a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/abc11.com\/post\/trump-delays-increased-tariffs-upholstered-furniture-kitchen-cabinets-vanities\/18338608\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> tariffs<\/a> could affect consumers more in the new year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;A lot of companies have absorbed tariffs so far because they don&#8217;t want to choke off their demand,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Weiss recommended staying committed to long-term investments. For those unable to afford financial advisory services, several free mobile apps are available to assist with future financial planning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;If you let fear kind of gauge what you&#8217;re trying to do, then you&#8217;ll try to sell things. Then you don&#8217;t know when to get back,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s kind of staying the course, and whether you do it on your own or if you&#8217;re working with a financial professional, just having a process.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Aquila says she spent most of 2025 on a tight budget. Her partner is trying to bring in more as we head into the new year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;He&#8217;s currently looking for another job,&#8221; said Aquila.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">She&#8217;s hoping 2026 will offer opportunity for her family to make new memories.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">&#8220;I wish I had extra money to do the fun things and vacations,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I would love to take my family on a vacation, but I just can&#8217;t right now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">The Bank Rate survey also found that 19 percent of Americans said paying down debt is their main financial goal for 2026.<br class=\" \"\/><\/p>\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2026 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) &#8212; A Garner mother is preparing to return to work on Monday after welcoming her&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":382557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[186518,28,101],"class_list":{"0":"post-382556","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-186518","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-economy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}