For a long time, our standard of living has been going down and the middle class has been shrinking. But in recent years, those two trends have accelerated. We have now reached a point where it takes 5 million dollars to live the American Dream for a lifetime. Needless to say, the vast majority of the population will never come close to making that sort of money. But most Americans continue to strive to live a middle class lifestyle, and as a result most people are teetering on the brink of financial disaster in this day and age.

According to a survey that was recently conducted by PNC Bank, 67 percent of U.S. workers are now living paycheck to paycheck…

A growing share of U.S. workers are struggling to cover expenses as everyday costs continue to weigh heavily on household budgets, according to new survey findings.

PNC Bank's annual Financial Wellness in the Workplace Report shows that 67 percent of workers now say they are living paycheck to paycheck, up from 63 percent in 2024.

The report surveyed 1,000 U.S. workers aged 21 to 69 who work full time at companies with more than 100 workers.

There are two very important points that I want to make about this survey.

First of all, it only covers people that actually have a job.

There are vast numbers of other Americans that are not employed and that are deeply struggling right now.

So when you take that into account, this survey is even more shocking.

Secondly, it is clear that we are rapidly moving in the wrong direction.

It was bad enough that 63 percent of U.S. workers were living paycheck to paycheck last year, but now we are at 67 percent.

A four percent jump in a single year is a very troubling sign.

The primary reason why so many employed Americans are struggling financially is due to the rapidly rising cost of living.

For example, the price of coffee has risen by almost 21 percent over the past 12 months…

Coffee drinkers are in for a jolt long before their first sip.

Retail coffee prices in the United States in August jumped nearly 21% compared to the same month last year — the largest annual jump since October 1997, according to the latest Consumer Price Index, released Thursday. On a monthly basis, coffee prices rose 4%, the most in 14 years.