The financial services firm released the latest edition of the Primerica U.S. Middle-Income Financial Security Monitor quarterly survey on Thursday, which showed that 68% of middle-income Americans said their income is falling behind the cost of living \u2013 a figure that has remained steady in the last two years.<\/p>\n
The analysis found that 49% of middle-income American families said their primary financial goal for the year ahead was to simply keep up with\u00a0rising costs<\/a>, signaling that they’re not anticipating any near-term relief.<\/p>\n Primerica CEO Glenn J. Williams told FOX Business in an interview that, “As you might expect after a number of years of this pressure, the attitudes of middle-income families have kind of leveled out \u2013 they’re not getting worse, but they certainly haven’t turned and aren’t getting significantly better yet.”<\/p>\n HOW AMERICANS COULD GET A $1,000 BOOST THIS TAX SEASON<\/a><\/p>\n Middle-income Americans are prioritizing keeping pace with rising costs as they deal with the impact of several years of rising costs, Primerica found. (Spencer Platt\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n “Many of them are in a deficit position, they’ve either used savings or\u00a0credit cards<\/a> to fill the gap,” Williams added, noting that even when cost of living pressures start to ease and with wages overtaking price increases, they won’t feel the benefit right away due to credit card debt or the need to rebuild savings.<\/p>\n Finding enough money leftover in the budget to save not only for\u00a0big-ticket purchases<\/a> like homes or cars, but also for accumulating an emergency savings fund that can be tapped during unexpected circumstances.<\/p>\n Primerica’s survey found that 70% of middle-income households said their ability to save for the future is “not so good” or “poor” \u2013 down slightly from 73% the prior quarter but little changed since the end of 2023.<\/p>\n HERE’S HOW MUCH TRUMP ACCOUNT BALANCES COULD GROW OVER TIME<\/a><\/p>\n Williams said the rising cost of everyday goods strained middle-income budgets in recent years. (\u00a0Stephanie Keith\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/p>\n “We still see a significant group that are managing their monthly finances by saying if I need a new washing machine or a\u00a0new car<\/a>, I’m just going to have to delay that because I can’t afford it right now,” he explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Quite frankly, that’s probably the right thing to do,” Williams added. “If you can have some delayed gratification, you can wait on those purchases until you’ve got more breathing room. So while it’s unfortunate that they have to do that, that’s actually a pretty good response to financial pressure.”<\/p>\n The share of respondents who said they had an\u00a0emergency fund<\/a> that would cover an expense of $1,000 or more rose slightly from 58% to 62% in the last year, though the figure is below the 64% reported in the first quarter of 2025.<\/p>\n NEW TAX DEDUCTION COULD PUT MORE MONEY BACK IN SENIORS’ POCKETS THIS YEAR<\/a><\/p>\n Some middle-income Americans have deferred significant purchases to rebuild their finances after the cost pressures of recent years. (Joe Raedle\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n “As Americans, we’re chronic under-savers when compared to citizens of other countries \u2013 we tend to live closer to the edge,” Williams noted. “We are seeing people start to rebuild a little bit and get back to where they were.”<\/p>\n “I wouldn’t say $1,000 is enough for an emergency fund for most families, but it’s a nice start,” he explained. “One of the things that has been our kind of fundamental advice since the beginning over 49 years of doing this \u2013 you need to build an emergency fund that’s at least six months of income if you can. That’s very difficult for most middle-income families, but it’s a good goal.”<\/p>\n Primerica’s survey found that the share of middle-income Americans who expect the\u00a0economy to worsen<\/a> over the next year declined to 59% from 63% in the prior quarter, which was well below the recent peak of 76% in the March 2025 edition of the report.<\/p>\n![\"Shopper](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769757428_211_shopper-dept-store-toys-outdoor.jpg\")
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