{"id":6903,"date":"2024-10-29T12:54:28","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T12:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/inflation-is-down-but-the-middle-class-remains-under-pressure\/"},"modified":"2024-10-29T12:54:28","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T12:54:28","slug":"inflation-is-down-but-the-middle-class-remains-under-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=6903","title":{"rendered":"Inflation is down, but the middle class remains under pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"SpecialReportArticle-ArticleBody-6\" data-module=\"ArticleBody\" data-test=\"articleBody-2\" data-analytics=\"SpecialReportArticle-articleBody-6-2\"><span class=\"HighlightShare-hidden\" style=\"top:0;left:0\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>At the national level, the middle class is typically defined as households that earn between two-thirds and double the household median income. Based on 2023 figures, that means those with an annual income between $53,740 and $161,220.<\/p>\n<p>Compared to its peak, inflation in the U.S. has eased substantially. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual rate of inflation was 2.4% in September, as measured by the consumer price index. But that hasn&#8217;t necessarily led to a dramatic decline in prices; in many categories, consumers have only seen costs rising more slowly.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationaltruecostofliving.org\/research\/pressrelease\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">As of June<\/a>, 65% of middle-class Americans said they were struggling financially and didn&#8217;t expect their situation to improve for the rest of their lives, according to a survey from the National True Cost of Living Coalition.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Financially, things have been a struggle,&#8221; said Kyle Connolly, a mother of three making a middle-class income in Pensacola, Florida. &#8220;This past month I was left with $125 in my checking account and that&#8217;s it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<div class=\"RelatedContent-relatedContent\" id=\"SpecialReportArticle-RelatedContent-1\">\n<div class=\"RelatedContent-container\">\n<div class=\"RelatedContent-nonCollapsibleContent\">\n<h2 class=\"RelatedContent-header\">More from Your Money:<\/h2>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p><em>Here&#8217;s a look at more stories on how to manage, grow and protect your money for the years ahead.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"group\">\n<p>Housing costs, child care, and health care are among the significant expenses putting pressure on middle-class families.<\/p>\n<p>Three-quarters of middle-income families said they are actively cutting back on non-essential expenses, with 73% finding it difficult to save for the future, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.primerica.com\/public\/Fact_Sheet_Primerica_Financial_Security_Monitor_Q3_2024.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to the most recent survey by Primerica<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In their own neighborhoods and in their own lives, they have their own expectations for what they can do, where they can go, where they can eat, where they can live,&#8221; said Bradley Hardy, a professor of public policy at Georgetown University. &#8220;And to the degree that they&#8217;re facing those pressures, on an individual basis, it is causing quite a bit of an alarm.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch the <\/strong><strong>video<\/strong><strong> above to discover what&#8217;s making life unaffordable for middle-class Americans.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2024\/10\/29\/inflation-is-down-but-the-middle-class-remains-under-pressure.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the national level, the middle class is typically defined as households that earn between two-thirds and double the household median income. Based on 2023 figures, that means those with an annual income between $53,740 and $161,220. Compared to its peak, inflation in the U.S. has eased substantially. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[196],"tags":[800,731,799,1683,1682],"class_list":{"0":"post-6903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-finance-news","8":"tag-class","9":"tag-inflation","10":"tag-middle","11":"tag-pressure","12":"tag-remains"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}