Two third high earner consumers living paycheck to paycheck

PYMNTS’ research finds that 61% of U.S. consumers lived paycheck to paycheck in April 2022, a nine percentage-point increase from 52% in April 2021, making it the main financial lifestyle in the U.S.


This increase means approximately three in five U.S. consumers devote nearly all their salaries to expenses with little to nothing left over at the end of the month.

Above excessive discretionary spending based lifestyle seems to be becoming common amongst privileged high earner millennials. 

Even though they are not *likely to practice frugality* the way most of first generation immigrants have been practicing, let's keep nudging our second generation millennial kids to avoid excessive discretionary spending and become savvy investors. Chances of success are quite slim, but trying is what we, as parents, have control over.

One example of excessive discretionary splurge is comparison bias (proverbial keep up with Jones) driven big fat indian weddings, which seems to be becoming norm lately. Millennials seem to be choosing extravagant wedding over long overdue first time home down payment. 

As above study shows, perhaps it's a new life style we are all slowly getting used to.

Another example is mass participation in destination wedding to expensive foreign tourist resort destinations. I'm sure it has non trivial contribution to above scary paycheck to paycheck living condition.

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