More than 33 percent of Americans earning $250,000 a year report a living wage increase, “indicating that inflation is taking up a larger share of Americans’ budgets at all ends of the spectrum,” Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
Industry publication Pymnts.com and LendingClub Corp. Between April 6 and April 13, we surveyed nearly 4,000 U.S. consumers and found that approximately 36% of households earning more than $250,000 per year spend most of their income on household expenses.
“This is especially true for millennials, who are now in their 20s and 40s, with more than half of the highest-paid members of this generation reporting almost nothing left by the end of the month,” the report said.
The survey found that 55.4 percent of millennials who earn more than $250,000 a year report a living wage on salary, compared to 21.8 percent of boomer generation participants in the same income category.
The survey identified high-income people who found it easier to pay their bills compared to those who had trouble financing their household expenses, which was almost a tenth in April. The report states:
Housing costs, which typically make up a large part of wealthier people’s budgets, have soared during the pandemic. For example, a luxury home in Orange County, California, rose from $1.2 million in February 2020 to $1.7 million in April, according to Zillow Group Inc. A mortgage on this home with a 20 percent down payment costs about $100,000 a year. That’s 40 percent of your $250,000 annual pre-tax income.
About 61 percent of consumers reported living wage to salary overall in April, up nine percentage points from last year. The results came as US food inflation continued to soar to a 41-year high and gas prices in many parts of the country were above $5.
The survey found that many high-income households use credit cards to “guide their lifestyles,” but can only pay off the balance.
“U.S. consumer loans rose to a record high in March as credit card balances rose and non-revolving loans rose, emphasizing the combined effect of solid spending and rising inflation,” the report said. Said.
Source: Breitbart
