A new report called the US Financial Diaries wanted to look at something that most studies of personal finances ignore, the day to day impact of incomes and expenses for many Americans. While most people understand that poor or working class families often live paycheck to paycheck, the US Financial Diaries reports that far more families than we might expect experience similar struggles throughout the course of a given year.
That happens when a person’s paycheck is not predictable, and when expenses rise and fall on a monthly or weekly basis. More people than ever before, even in the middle class, are paid based on actual work completed, which varies over time. And so it is more difficult to predict how much money you will have, and when you’ll have to make do with less.
This kind of unpredictability can lead to financial stress over time as fewer of us enjoy the comfort of a predictable paycheck. For more on this study, read the full article here.