‘I work for a living’: Whoopi Goldberg says she relates to Americans ‘having a hard time’ — admits she’d leave ‘The View’ if she had ‘all the money in the world’

Financially squeezed

As of 2023, roughly 11 million Americans ages 65 and older are still employed, according to the Pew Research Center. Meanwhile, a recent survey by LiveCareer revealed a startling 61% of U.S. workers fear retirement more than death. The majority of respondents (82%) said they have considered delaying their retirement for financial reasons.

These statistics paint a grim picture of a workforce that’s feeling anxious and economically squeezed. Digging deeper into the stats reveals that these concerns are not restricted to the middle class or working class. Per PYMNTS Intelligence, 62% of all U.S. consumers now live paycheck to paycheck, including 36% of those whose annual incomes exceed $200,000.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported in 2023 that an increasing number of high-income families were shopping at discount retailers and dollar stores such as DollarTree and Five Below.

Financial pressure has spread across the age and income spectrum. To mitigate this issue, families need to find better ways to budget and adapt.

Discover how a simple decision today could lead to an extra $1.3 million in retirement

Learn how you can set yourself up for a more prosperous future by exploring why so many people who work with financial advisors retire with more wealth.

Discover the full story and see how you could be on the path to an extra $1.3 million in retirement.

Read More

Better budgeting

A dynamic economy calls for a dynamic budget. For many families, it may no longer be enough to make simple assumptions about how much your monthly bills for essentials will be when prices are rising.

Instead, financial experts recommend turning your attention to income instead. Ramit Sethi, host of the Netflix series “How to Get Rich,” recommends the 50/20/30 rule, which puts after-tax income into three different baskets: 50% for necessary expenses, 20% for debt repayment and savings and 30% for everything else, including leisure.

“The goal is simple: decrease your debt, increase your savings and investments, and allow yourself some guilt-free spending,” Sethi says on his website.

For high-income earners,, it’s important to set money aside for savings and investments first, before splurging. Credit reporting giant Experian calls this method “reverse budgeting” and says this method restricts discretionary spending, because you can only spend what’s left after meeting savings targets, and bolsters financial resilience.