Americans grow more pessimistic about finances as rent and food cost fears surge, Fed says

[mystery-ak]

June 8, 2026 3:21pm EDT
Americans grow more pessimistic about finances as rent and food cost fears surge, Fed says
Households reporting finances as 'much worse off' than a year ago jumped to 13.3%, the highest since July 2022

By Kristen Altus FOXBusiness

Americans are increasingly reaching a breaking point regarding their household finances.

Despite hopes for a soft landing after years of elevated inflation, consumer pessimism has reached some of its worst levels in years, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations released Monday.

The percentage of U.S. households that reported being "much worse off" financially than a year ago rose to 13.3% in May, up more than 2 percentage points from April and the highest reading since July 2022.

Additionally, 36% of Americans expect their financial situations to deteriorate further over the coming year, while fewer than 23% expect improvement, resulting in the lowest net optimism since October 2022.

While overall inflation expectations remained largely unchanged, respondents expected higher costs ahead, including a 5.8% increase in food prices and a 7.4% rise in rent over the next year.

The latest Fed survey aligns with the Federal Reserve's most recent Beige Book, which summarizes economic conditions across the Fed's 12 regional districts. Prices "increased at a moderate to strong pace overall, with most Districts reporting higher inflation from the previous report," according to the Fed's national summary.

"Districts noted that energy-related costs tied to the conflict in the Middle East were the primary driver of inflationary pressures, with spillovers into shipping, packaging, groceries, and fertilizer," the report added, with the Cleveland Fed noting increased fuel surcharges.

Consumer concerns were also evident in the labor market, with respondents reporting that their confidence in finding a new job if they lost their current one fell to its lowest level since December 2025. Less than half of workers (43.7%) said they believed they would be able to find a replacement job if laid off.

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https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/americans-grow-more-pessimistic-about-finances-rent-food-cost-fears-surge-fed-says

[Hoodat]

Maybe if the Fed stopped pumping $2 trillion of freshly minted money into the economy every year just to fund government excess (and the Democrat Party), then maybe rent and food costs would stop rising.

Inflation is 100% the fault of those in charge of the money supply - the Federal Reserve.

[rustynail]

It is getting bad fast.  At Kroger in Lexington Ky. Sunday Jumbo eggs were 1.99 a dozen!

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Maybe if the Fed stopped pumping $2 trillion of freshly minted money into the economy every year just to fund government excess (and the Democrat Party), then maybe rent and food costs would stop rising.

Inflation is 100% the fault of those in charge of the money supply - the Federal Reserve.

  Tell that to Rump, he thinks the Fed show lower interest rates.

[berdie]

Rent/house payments are stupid crazy. Food prices are as well and sadly, when times get better (if ever) they will never come down.

I worry about people with kids. I don't know how they are making it. Since most parents have to work I don't think many have the luxury of "scratch" cooking to save money...if they know how. Going out to eat is crazy. I went to Mickey D's a couple of years ago. Just for me it was $10. So how people with kids can even go there seems out of reach.

[mountaineer]

It is getting bad fast.  At Kroger in Lexington Ky. Sunday Jumbo eggs were 1.99 a dozen!

As opposed to the $4 per dozen they were two years ago?

[Hoodat]

It is getting bad fast.  At Kroger in Lexington Ky. Sunday Jumbo eggs were 1.99 a dozen!

The GOP owns this.  They brought in Elon Musk and DOGE.  Musk et al told them what to do.  And they kicked him out.

By the time Trump leaves office, our money supply will have increased by $8 trillion, just so we can continue spending on all the things the Democrats wanted in 2022.

Republicans are stooopid.