--- title: Half of Americans Say They're Worse off Financially Now Than a Year Ago description: Gallup says the last time this many people were feeling pessimistic about their money was during the Great Recession. authors: - name: Sarah Hansen role: Senior Writer url: https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/ bio: Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. Previously, she covered economic policy and capital markets on the breaking news desk at Forbes. education: Northwestern University, New York University at_money_since: 2021 articles: 347 covers: - Personal Finance - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-m-hansen/ former_staff: true published: '2023-02-08T18:24:12.000Z' modified: '2024-01-10T17:49:37.000Z' section: Personal Finance tags: - News word_count: 358 canonical: https://money.com/finances-worse-than-a-year-ago/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Close-up of a person using the calculator on their smartphone while looking over receipts](https://img.money.com/2023/02/News-Personal-Finance-Worse2.jpg) Half of Americans say their financial situation is worse than it was a year ago, according to a [new Gallup poll](https://news.gallup.com/poll/469898/half-say-worse-off-highest-2009.aspx). The last time this many people were feeling pessimistic about their money was during the Great Recession, which stretched from 2007 to 2009. ## What the data says Of the 1,000-plus people asked about their personal finances between Jan. 2 and Jan. 22: - 50% said they are worse off now than they were a year ago - 35% said they are better off now than they were a year ago This is a departure from 2022 and 2021, when the same portion of Americans (41%) said they were better off as said they were worse off. ## Beyond the numbers It’s no wonder so many people feel pessimistic. [Inflation](https://money.com/items-prices-rising-faster-than-inflation/) pushed prices higher and higher last year, soaring [mortgage rates](https://money.com/current-mortgage-rates/) meant homeownership was more expensive than ever before, and a persistent [bear market](https://money.com/bear-market-ends-bull-market-begins/) put a dent in nearly everyone’s investment portfolio. That pessimism is even more prevalent among lower-income Americans, 61% of whom said their finances are worse now than they were last year. ## Looking ahead Here's a silver lining. For the most part — and despite all those economic headwinds — Americans feel optimistic about their finances in the months to come: - 60% of people said they expected to be better off a year from now - 28% said they expected to be worse off That’s despite the fact that nearly half of Americans think the market is [primed to fall further](https://money.com/stock-market-predictions-fall-gallup/), a separate Gallup poll found. ## Advice from Money If you’re worried about your finances this year, there are some steps you can take to feel more confident, even with the possibility of a [recession](https://money.com/what-recession-would-mean-for-stock-market/) in the next few months. Take some time to shore up your [emergency fund](https://money.com/emergency-fund-too-small-inflation/), and think about trimming down your spending. It’s also a good idea to prioritize paying down debt. [A Record Share of Americans Say the Stock Market Is Primed to Fall: Gallup](https://money.com/stock-market-predictions-fall-gallup/) [Inflation Is No Longer the No. 1 Problem Facing the Country: Poll](https://money.com/inflation-government-biggest-problem-united-states/) [After a Strong Month for Stocks, Here's Where the Market Could Be Heading in February](https://money.com/where-stock-market-heading-february-2023/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/finances-worse-than-a-year-ago/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Personal Finance", "item": "https://money.com/personal-finance/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Financial Planning", "item": "https://money.com/financial-planning/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Half of Americans Say They're Worse off Financially Now Than a Year Ago" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/finances-worse-than-a-year-ago/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/finances-worse-than-a-year-ago/", "name": "Half of Americans Say They're Worse off Financially Now Than a Year Ago", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-02-08T18:24:12.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/finances-worse-than-a-year-ago/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/finances-worse-than-a-year-ago/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-01-10T17:49:37.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Half of Americans Say They're Worse off Financially Now Than a Year Ago", "articleSection": "Personal Finance", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/02/News-Personal-Finance-Worse2.jpg", "width": 5300, "height": 3533, "caption": "News-Personal-Finance-Worse" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Hansen", "url": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/#author", "description": "Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. 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