‘Living paycheck-to-paycheck has become the norm’: Inflation takes its toll on American finances as emergency funds run dry

Inflation is taking its toll on people’s emergency funds. Overall, 65% percent of employed consumers were living paycheck-to-paycheck in September 2022 — up from 60% a year ago. Adjusted for inflation, savings are down 88% from their 2020 peak and 61% lower than pre-pandemic. (Personal savings hit $629 billion in the second quarter of 2022, down from $1.41 trillion in the second quarter of 2019.) “With inflationary pressures not expected to subside anytime soon, living paycheck-to-paycheck has become the norm,” Anuj Nayar, LendingClub’s financial health officer, said.