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美国人面临生活成本危机,部分Z世代担心会无家可归

Jane Thier
2024-05-14

一项调查显示,只有约三分之一的受访者表示,预计明年的财务安全将比现在有所好转。

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有人小心谨慎,有人陷入恐慌。美国许多年轻人对自己的财务前景的看法,已经变成了恐慌。

这是储蓄与投资应用程序Acorns于5月9日发布的金钱问题报告(Money Matters Report)的结果。该报告详细调查了美国人担心的财务问题。Acorns为这份报告调查了5,000多名美国消费者,了解他们的态度和担忧,调查结果不容乐观。

近四分之一的受访者表示,他们非常担心当前的财务状况会让他们无家可归。从不同代际来看,约三分之一Z世代和千禧一代表达了这种担忧,相比之下婴儿潮一代的比例只有11%。

无家可归是一种极端的结果,但并非完全没有可能发生。2023年12月,美国联邦官员宣布,美国无家可归者同比增长了12%,达到美国有报告以来的最高水平。导致无家可归者增多的原因包括难以负担的高房租、工资停止上涨,以及新冠疫情期间的补助戛然而止等。

截至六个月前,美国的无家可归者达到65.3万人,这是自美国2007年开始统计年度数据以来无家可归者人数最多的一次。

当时,美国联邦无家可归者综合委员会(U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness)的执行总监杰夫·奥利韦特指出,无家可归者人数爆炸式增长背后的主要原因是“经济适用房不足和住房成本高,导致许多美国人依赖工资维持生计,一旦生活中发生危机就会陷入无家可归的境地”。

这与Acorns报告中的结果一致;各个收入阶层的上班族在财务方面最担心的三个问题分别是生活成本、通货膨胀和负债。

早在新冠疫情爆发之前,美国就已经存在经济适用房不足的情况,从小乡镇到大多数高薪工作集中的经济中心城市,都存在这个问题。自从新冠疫情结束以来,情况几乎没有好转。

正如《财富》杂志的艾莉娜·波特罗思所写的那样:“自从新冠疫情引发的房地产市场繁荣以来,房价和房租大幅上涨,抵押贷款利率达到数十年来的最高水平,购买独栋住宅的难度变得越来越大。”事实上,在美国前50个大都市区,有44个都市区的房租依旧跑赢了工资。

即使薪酬丰厚的上班族,也越来越难忽视海外的问题。超过一半的受访者称,战争和冲突等宏观经济事件,可能进一步影响他们的财务状况。

更不必说美国国内的问题,例如在持续高通胀和高负债的环境下飙升的生活成本。许多受访者尤其是年轻人指出,他们没有应急资金,但对失去稳定生活的担忧,促使各收入阶层的上班族重视储蓄。近30%的受访者告诉Acorns,他们从最开始就没有应急资金,而在有应急资金的受访者中,大多数人说对周围发生的事情感到恐惧,因此他们将增加储蓄。

只有约三分之一的受访者表示,预计明年的财务安全状况将比现在有所好转。较年长的受访者普遍更加乐观。沉默的一代(Acorns定义为78岁以上的群体)认为自己不存在财务问题的比例,是其他年龄段的两倍以上。

Acorns公司的首席执行官诺亚·克纳在报告里写道:“在全球战争和动荡的大背景下,普通美国人面对通胀持续升高到生活成本上涨等一系列糟糕的财务资讯。让我备受鼓舞的是,我们可以结合以往的经验,通过教育和工具相结合,抱着希望和信心,直面这个问题。”(财富中文网)

译者:刘进龙

审校:汪皓

有人小心谨慎,有人陷入恐慌。美国许多年轻人对自己的财务前景的看法,已经变成了恐慌。

这是储蓄与投资应用程序Acorns于5月9日发布的金钱问题报告(Money Matters Report)的结果。该报告详细调查了美国人担心的财务问题。Acorns为这份报告调查了5,000多名美国消费者,了解他们的态度和担忧,调查结果不容乐观。

近四分之一的受访者表示,他们非常担心当前的财务状况会让他们无家可归。从不同代际来看,约三分之一Z世代和千禧一代表达了这种担忧,相比之下婴儿潮一代的比例只有11%。

无家可归是一种极端的结果,但并非完全没有可能发生。2023年12月,美国联邦官员宣布,美国无家可归者同比增长了12%,达到美国有报告以来的最高水平。导致无家可归者增多的原因包括难以负担的高房租、工资停止上涨,以及新冠疫情期间的补助戛然而止等。

截至六个月前,美国的无家可归者达到65.3万人,这是自美国2007年开始统计年度数据以来无家可归者人数最多的一次。

当时,美国联邦无家可归者综合委员会(U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness)的执行总监杰夫·奥利韦特指出,无家可归者人数爆炸式增长背后的主要原因是“经济适用房不足和住房成本高,导致许多美国人依赖工资维持生计,一旦生活中发生危机就会陷入无家可归的境地”。

这与Acorns报告中的结果一致;各个收入阶层的上班族在财务方面最担心的三个问题分别是生活成本、通货膨胀和负债。

早在新冠疫情爆发之前,美国就已经存在经济适用房不足的情况,从小乡镇到大多数高薪工作集中的经济中心城市,都存在这个问题。自从新冠疫情结束以来,情况几乎没有好转。

正如《财富》杂志的艾莉娜·波特罗思所写的那样:“自从新冠疫情引发的房地产市场繁荣以来,房价和房租大幅上涨,抵押贷款利率达到数十年来的最高水平,购买独栋住宅的难度变得越来越大。”事实上,在美国前50个大都市区,有44个都市区的房租依旧跑赢了工资。

即使薪酬丰厚的上班族,也越来越难忽视海外的问题。超过一半的受访者称,战争和冲突等宏观经济事件,可能进一步影响他们的财务状况。

更不必说美国国内的问题,例如在持续高通胀和高负债的环境下飙升的生活成本。许多受访者尤其是年轻人指出,他们没有应急资金,但对失去稳定生活的担忧,促使各收入阶层的上班族重视储蓄。近30%的受访者告诉Acorns,他们从最开始就没有应急资金,而在有应急资金的受访者中,大多数人说对周围发生的事情感到恐惧,因此他们将增加储蓄。

只有约三分之一的受访者表示,预计明年的财务安全状况将比现在有所好转。较年长的受访者普遍更加乐观。沉默的一代(Acorns定义为78岁以上的群体)认为自己不存在财务问题的比例,是其他年龄段的两倍以上。

Acorns公司的首席执行官诺亚·克纳在报告里写道:“在全球战争和动荡的大背景下,普通美国人面对通胀持续升高到生活成本上涨等一系列糟糕的财务资讯。让我备受鼓舞的是,我们可以结合以往的经验,通过教育和工具相结合,抱着希望和信心,直面这个问题。”(财富中文网)

译者:刘进龙

审校:汪皓

There’s being cautious, and then there’s being terrified. When it comes to their financial outlook, many young adults have slipped into the second category.

That’s according to the Money Matters Report, a dense examination into American financial concerns published on May 9 by saving and investing app Acorns. For the report, Acorns surveyed over 5,000 U.S. consumers about their attitudes and their concerns—and the results were dire.

Nearly a quarter of respondents said they’re actively concerned that the state of their finances could lead to homelessness. Broken down by generation, about a third of Gen Z and millennials said so, compared to just 11% of boomers.

Homelessness is an extreme outcome, but it’s not entirely beyond the scope of possibility. In December 2023, federal officials announced the U.S. experienced a 12% year-over-year increase in homelessness, bringing the nation to its highest reported level. The causes varied from impossibly steep rents, stagnant wages, and pandemic assistance payments sputtering to a stop.

As of six months ago, 653,000 people in the U.S. are homeless, which is the most ever tabulated since the country began conducting yearly data in 2007.

The main culprits behind the explosion in homelessness are “the shortage of affordable homes and the high cost of housing that have left many Americans living paycheck to paycheck and one crisis away from homelessness,” Jeff Olivet, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, said at the time.

That aligns with the findings in Acorns’ report; for workers across income brackets, the three biggest financial concerns are cost of living, inflation, and debt.

Long before the pandemic, America was gripped with shortages of affordable housing, everywhere from small rural towns to the economic city centers where most high-paying jobs can be found. Things have hardly improved since we took off our surgical masks.

As Fortune’s Alena Botros wrote, “since the pandemic-fueled housing boom, with both home prices and rents up substantially and mortgage rates at the highest level in decades, the single-family home has become much less accessible.” Indeed, rents still outpace salaries in 44 of the top 50 U.S. metropolitan areas.

Even for those who are gainfully employed, concerns overseas are becoming more difficult to ignore. Over half of respondents said macroeconomic events—like war and conflict—could further imperil their finances.

That’s to say nothing of the problems at home: a skyrocketing cost of living amid enduringly high inflation and debt. Many respondents, particularly younger ones, say they lack emergency funds, but fears over losing stability have nonetheless galvanized workers at all income levels to prioritize saving. Nearly 30% of respondents told Acorns they’ve never had an emergency fund to begin with, but among those who do have one, most say they’re upping their contributions, scared straight by the events unfolding around them.

Only around one-third of respondents said they expect to be more financially secure next year than they are now. Things generally skew more optimistic for the older crowd. The silent generation (which Acorns defines as those over 78 years old) were over twice as likely as the rest of the general population to claim they have no financial concerns at all.

“The everyday American is facing a deluge of bad financial news, from persistent increases in inflation to cost of living, all against a backdrop of global war and turmoil,” Noah Kerner, CEO of Acorns, wrote in the report. “What I’m encouraged by is that we can empirically confront the problem with a mix of education, tools, hope, and confidence.”

财富中文网所刊载内容之知识产权为财富媒体知识产权有限公司及/或相关权利人专属所有或持有。未经许可,禁止进行转载、摘编、复制及建立镜像等任何使用。
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