86 Percent of Americans Worried About Inflation’s Impact on Their Financial Health In 2023

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doxo, the innovative web and mobile bill pay service, released new survey data on Americans’ concerns around inflation and its impact on their finances in 2023. doxo INSIGHTS’ new report, “The Impact of Inflation on Paying Household Bills in the New Year” shows the vast majority of Americans (86%) are worried about the impact of inflation on their financial health in the new year. 73% worry that inflation will have an impact specifically on their ability to pay bills. The report further breaks down which bill categories people believe will be impacted, as well as how long they think it will take their own household, as well as the economy at large, to improve.

“While Americans are understandably prioritizing their most essential bills, like rent and car payments, the majority worry about being able to pay utilities, cable and internet, and their mobile phone bills in a timely manner.”

Last year, household bills grew 6% over the year prior, with the average American household spending $24,032 annually on bills (just over $2K per month and 36% of the U.S. household median income of $67,521). Utility bills specifically were up 7% in the third quarter of 2022 over the same period in the previous year, with power prices expected to continue to increase across the country during the cold winter months, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

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“The average American household has been hit hard by inflation in recent months and these findings show just how much those cumulative effects are weighing on Americans heading into this new year,” said Liz Powell, Director of INSIGHTS at doxo. “While Americans are understandably prioritizing their most essential bills, like rent and car payments, the majority worry about being able to pay utilities, cable and internet, and their mobile phone bills in a timely manner.”

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Key findings from The Impact of Inflation on Paying Household Bills in the New Year report include:

• 86% of consumers are worried about the impact of inflation on their financial health in the new year: Given recent strains on household budgets due to nationwide inflation, it is no surprise that an overwhelming majority of consumers are worried about the state of their financial health heading into 2023.
• 73% of consumers are worried about how inflation will impact their ability to pay bills in the future: As household bills continue to rise due to inflation, it is no surprise that consumers are worried about how they will keep up in the new year.
• Utilities top the list of household bills that consumers are most concerned about paying in the future: Of the more than 70% of consumers who are concerned about paying bills in the future, 73% say they are most concerned about paying their Utilities, followed by Auto Insurance and Cable & Internet (both 63%), then Mobile Phone (62%). The percentage of people concerned about being able to pay the ten most common household bills include the following:
  • Utilities 73%
  • Auto Insurance: 63%
  • Cable & Internet: 63%
  • Mobile Phone: 62%
  • Alarm & Security: 51%
  • Health Insurance: 50%
  • Life Insurance: 44%
  • Dental Insurance: 42%
  • Auto Loan: 42%
  • Mortgage: 39%
  • Rent: 33%
• 61% of consumers believe it will take more than a year for the U.S. economy to recover: The majority of consumers believe that the U.S. economy will struggle for at least another year; 18% believe that the impact of inflation over the past year+ means that it will never recover.
• 72% said it would take 6 months or more until their own household’s financial health improves: Seven in ten consumers believe it will take 6 months or more until their own household’s financial health improves, nearly 50% said it would take more than a year, and a little more than 10% said it would never improve.