A survey of 1,875 Americans by Acorns found that earning more money
doesn’t significantly reduce financial anxiety — but having a higher net
worth does.
Acorns对1875名美国人的调查发现，赚更多钱并不能显著减少财务焦虑——但拥有更高的净资产可以。
51% of those earning under $20,000 feel financially anxious, while
46% of those earning $60,000–$80,000 feel the same — barely a difference
despite tripling income.
年收入低于2万美元的人中51%感到财务焦虑，而收入在6万至8万美元的人中46%也有同感——尽管收入增加了两倍，差异却微乎其微。
But net worth tells a different story: 65% of people with negative
net worth report anxiety, versus 43% of those with zero debt.
但净资产讲述了不同的故事：净资产为负的人中65%报告有焦虑，而无债务者为43%。
Financial therapist Aja Evans explains that anxiety comes from your
sense of security — whether you could survive a financial catastrophe —
not from how much you earn each month.
财务治疗师阿贾·埃文斯解释说，焦虑来自你的安全感——你能否在财务灾难中生存——而不是你每月赚多少。
A high salary can vanish overnight with a layoff, but assets and low
debt provide a safety net that calms the mind.
高薪可能因裁员一夜之间消失，但资产和低债务提供了一个让人安心的安全网。
As inflation outpaces wages, more Americans rely on credit cards and
tap retirement savings, increasing their debt burden and anxiety
regardless of income.
随着通胀超过工资增长，更多美国人依赖信用卡和动用退休储蓄，无论收入多少都增加了债务负担和焦虑。
Even the wealthy aren’t immune: 43% of those worth $500K–$800K and
26% of those earning $150K+ still report financial anxiety, driven by
war, AI fears, layoff threats, and rising prices.
即使是富人也不能幸免：净资产50万至80万美元的人中43%、年收入15万以上的人中26%仍报告有财务焦虑，受战争、AI恐惧、裁员威胁和物价上涨驱动。
Experts advise: don’t make financial decisions from a place of fear
or crisis — the emotional burden of money follows you into sleep,
relationships, and health. Re-center first, then act from clarity.
专家建议：不要在恐惧或危机中做财务决策——金钱的情感负担会跟随你进入睡眠、人际关系和健康。先重新集中，然后从清醒的角度行动。
Making more money may seem like the answer for dealing with financial stress and anxiety. But new data indicates that boosting income alone may not help much.
A new survey of 1,875 U.S. adults by investing app Acorns found financial anxiety does not significantly decrease as incomes rise. What did help ease respondent’s minds, based on the survey results, was having a higher net worth, found by subtracting a household’s liabilities from its assets.
Just over half (51%) respondents earning less than $20,000 a year reported feeling financially anxious, while 46% of people earning between $60,000 and $80,000 a year reported the same, Acorns found.
Sixty-five percent of Americans with a negative net worth (more debt than assets) reported experiencing financial anxiety. Forty-three percent of those with no debt and assets and 47% of those with a net worth between $75,000 and $250,000 said the same.
“What we’re talking about with a lower net worth is honestly how much money do you literally have, and what could you have the potential of pulling from if you 100% needed to,” says Aja Evans, a financial therapist. “If you have a lower net worth, then there may not be as many areas for you to get the necessary cash, and that can really increase people’s financial anxiety.”
The survey findings offer more insight into the widespread financial stress and anxiety Americans are grappling with.
As overall inflation starts to outpace wages, many consumers are relying on credit cards and loans to cover their expenses and a growing number of workers are tapping their retirement savings for cash, recent data from Fidelity shows.
A higher income may help individuals avoid some of those moves, but may not reduce their stress levels. That could be due to high debt loads and monthly payments weighing on them or the fear that a high salary could go away without much warning in the event of a layoff, Evans says.
“It’s more about your individual sense of security, your individual sense of safety, your individual sense of, ‘hey, can I take care of myself or my family if something catastrophic happened to my finances?’ that’s where the financial anxiety comes from,” she says.
Erika Rasure, chief financial wellness advisor at financial wellness and debt consolidation company Beyond Finance, agrees and adds, “When you’re finding yourself in those situations, you often, from my perspective, lose the cognitive bandwidth to make clear financial decisions.”
When the “emotional burden of money” and your overall mental health are intertwined, Rasure says, the weight of something like debt is “going to follow you into your sleep and your relationships to your job to your physical health, like you cannot escape.”
Even individuals who do have high incomes or net worths can experience financial anxiety.
About 43% of Americans with a net worth between $500,000 and $800,000, and 24% of those with a net worth of $800,000 or higher report financial anxiety, Acorns found. Of those earning $150,000 a year or more, 26% said the same.
It’s very common, Evans says, especially with factors like an ongoing war, fears around AI, the threat of layoffs and rising prices happening all at once. But that doesn’t mean individuals should take drastic actions with their money.
“Please do not make financial decisions or move any money financially when you are feeling stressed out or in crisis,” Evans adds. “It’s going to be shortsighted, and that’s not good for you or your financials.”
“There’s stuff you can’t control over here, that’s OK, but what can you control in this present moment?” Rasure says. “Allow yourself to really re-center and ground and re-group, and make financial decisions, whatever they are, from a place of clarity instead of fear.”
Making more money may seem like the answer for dealing with financial
stress and anxiety. But new data indicates that boosting income alone
may not help much.
赚更多钱似乎是应对财务压力和焦虑的答案。但新数据表明，仅仅提高收入可能帮助不大。
A new survey of 1,875 U.S. adults by investing app Acorns found
financial anxiety does not significantly decrease as incomes rise. What
did help ease respondent’s minds, based on the survey results, was
having a higher net worth, found by subtracting a household’s
liabilities from its assets.
投资应用Acorns对1875名美国成年人的新调查发现，财务焦虑并不会随着收入增加而显著减少。根据调查结果，真正能缓解受访者心理负担的是拥有更高的净资产——即家庭资产减去负债。
Just over half (51%) respondents earning less than $20,000 a year
reported feeling financially anxious, while 46% of people earning
between $60,000 and $80,000 a year reported the same, Acorns
found.
Acorns发现，年收入低于2万美元的受访者中略超过一半（51%）表示感到财务焦虑，而年收入在6万至8万美元之间的人中有46%也有同感。
Sixty-five percent of Americans with a negative net worth (more debt
than assets) reported experiencing financial anxiety. Forty-three
percent of those with no debt and assets and 47% of those with a net
worth between $75,000 and $250,000 said the same.
净资产为负（债务多于资产）的美国人中有65%报告经历财务焦虑。无债务无资产的人中有43%，净资产在7.5万至25万美元之间的人中有47%表示同样如此。
“What we’re talking about with a lower net worth is honestly how much
money do you literally have, and what could you have the potential of
pulling from if you 100% needed to,” says Aja Evans, a financial
therapist.
财务治疗师阿贾·埃文斯说：“我们谈论较低净资产时，说的其实是你实际上有多少钱，以及如果你百分之百需要时，你有可能从哪里获取资金。”
“If you have a lower net worth, then there may not be as many areas
for you to get the necessary cash, and that can really increase people’s
financial anxiety.”
“如果你的净资产较低，那么你可能没有那么多途径获得必要的现金，这确实会加剧人们的财务焦虑。”
The survey findings offer more insight into the widespread financial
stress and anxiety Americans are grappling with.
调查结果为美国人正在应对的普遍财务压力和焦虑提供了更多洞察。
As overall inflation starts to outpace wages, many consumers are
relying on credit cards and loans to cover their expenses and a growing
number of workers are tapping their retirement savings for cash, recent
data from Fidelity shows.
富达的最新数据显示，随着整体通胀开始超过工资增长，许多消费者依赖信用卡和贷款来支付开支，越来越多的工人正在动用退休储蓄来获取现金。
A higher income may help individuals avoid some of those moves, but
may not reduce their stress levels. That could be due to high debt loads
and monthly payments weighing on them or the fear that a high salary
could go away without much warning in the event of a layoff, Evans
says.
埃文斯说，较高的收入可能帮助人们避免某些举措，但未必能降低他们的压力水平。这可能是因为高额债务负担和月供的压力，或者对裁员时高薪可能毫无预警地消失的恐惧。
“It’s more about your individual sense of security, your individual
sense of safety, your individual sense of, ‘hey, can I take care of
myself or my family if something catastrophic happened to my finances?’
that’s where the financial anxiety comes from,” she says.
她说：“这更多关乎你个人的安全感——‘嘿，如果我的财务发生灾难性事件，我能照顾好自己或家人吗？’——这就是财务焦虑的来源。”
Erika Rasure, chief financial wellness advisor at financial wellness
and debt consolidation company Beyond Finance, agrees and adds, “When
you’re finding yourself in those situations, you often, from my
perspective, lose the cognitive bandwidth to make clear financial
decisions.”
Beyond
Finance财务健康和债务整合公司的首席财务健康顾问埃里卡·拉苏尔同意并补充道：“当你发现自己处于那种境况时，从我的角度来看，你往往会失去做出清晰财务决策的认知带宽。”
When the “emotional burden of money” and your overall mental health
are intertwined, Rasure says, the weight of something like debt is
“going to follow you into your sleep and your relationships to your job
to your physical health, like you cannot escape.”
拉苏尔说，当”金钱的情感负担”与你的整体心理健康交织在一起时，债务之类的重压”会跟随你进入睡眠、人际关系、工作和身体健康——你无法逃脱。”
Even individuals who do have high incomes or net worths can
experience financial anxiety.
即使是高收入或高净资产的人也会经历财务焦虑。
About 43% of Americans with a net worth between $500,000 and
$800,000, and 24% of those with a net worth of $800,000 or higher report
financial anxiety, Acorns found.
Acorns发现，净资产在50万至80万美元之间的美国人中约有43%报告有财务焦虑，净资产80万美元以上的人中有24%也是如此。
Of those earning $150,000 a year or more, 26% said the same.
年收入15万美元以上的人中，26%表示有同样感受。
It’s very common, Evans says, especially with factors like an ongoing
war, fears around AI, the threat of layoffs and rising prices happening
all at once.
埃文斯说这非常普遍，尤其是在战争持续、对AI的恐惧、裁员威胁和物价上涨同时发生的情况下。
But that doesn’t mean individuals should take drastic actions with
their money.
但这并不意味着人们应该对自己的钱采取激烈行动。
“Please do not make financial decisions or move any money financially
when you are feeling stressed out or in crisis,” Evans adds. “It’s going
to be shortsighted, and that’s not good for you or your
financials.”
埃文斯补充说：“请不要在感到压力或危机时做财务决策或转移资金。那将是短视的，对你和你的财务都不好。”
“There’s stuff you can’t control over here, that’s OK, but what can
you control in this present moment?” Rasure says. “Allow yourself to
really re-center and ground and re-group, and make financial decisions,
whatever they are, from a place of clarity instead of fear.”
拉苏尔说：“有些事情你无法控制，没关系，但在当下你能控制什么？让自己真正重新集中、扎根和重组，从清醒而非恐惧的角度做出财务决策，无论是什么决策。”