Americans of all income levels agree on one surprising thing: They don’t have enough money to feel secure.
Just 16% of Americans say their income supports the life they want to lead, according to new research on financial fulfillment from Edward Jones and Gallup that surveyed a nationally representative sample of 5,075 U.S. adults aged 21 or older.
Double that, 32%, say they are in a state of financial distress.
The sentiment probably won’t surprise regular readers of Home Economics. It’s not difficult to figure out why so many Americans might not be feeling financially fulfilled right now. In 2026, uncertainty abounds, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, a chaotically run federal government, and constant warnings that we’re not doing enough to make our future better.
The Edward Jones and Gallup poll wasn’t asking about fulfillment solely in relation to how much money we have in the bank, but how fulfillment “connects objective financial conditions to meaning, purpose, and feelings about money.” I reached out to Dan Klug, a certified financial planner at Edward Jones, to go more in depth.
Financial fulfillment is defined in the report as “a broader sense of security and resilience through life’s ups and downs, along with confidence that financial decisions today will support what matters most to people both now and in the future.” Adults with higher financial fulfillment are “far more likely to be thriving in life,” the report reads. They rate their physical and mental health more positively and feel stronger connections in their relationships and communities. This is true even when accounting for net worth, age, income, etc.
Most Americans fall into the conflicted middle, says Klug: not constantly worried about their finances but not thrilled with them, either. And these are not static states. People will fluctuate between different levels of financial fulfillment over the course of their lives.
“Financial fulfillment is a journey,” says Klug. “You can waver between feeling stressed or feeling conflicted or feeling fulfilled.”
What’s interesting is that a higher income doesn’t necessarily translate into less money anxiety. Over 60% of those earning at least $135,000 still feel stress when thinking about their finances. Younger Americans earning over six figures report feeling significantly more stressed about their finances than similar-earning Baby Boomers.
While lower paid workers might roll their eyes at the financial anxieties of the six-figure set, Klug says it is rare that people’s financial problems magically disappear once they start to earn more. Instead, wealth can beget more complexity, and stress can grow. You earn more, and suddenly you have more options. But there probably still isn’t enough to do everything—instead, you may start making more tradeoffs. And that brings anxiety.
Lindsey Stanberry
This can be felt, in particular, by people in the sandwich generation, says Klug—your income and wealth tends to grow as you age, as do your responsibilities. Consider: The first-generation tech worker who is sending money back home, or the mom who finally got promoted to management only to be tasked with caring for aging parents because her siblings live far away. They thought they’d feel better off as their income grew, but our financial obligations tend to act like gases in a container—they’ll always find a way to fill up all of the space.
“Whether it’s income or wealth, as it grows, I think there’s a sense of responsibility that comes with that for a lot of Americans,” says Klug. “We find that clients, as they start to have those resources, those worries start to creep in because now they could end up being the go-to person. As we get more money, that money can start to control our lives.”
More wealth can also come with increased guilt.
“I have clients that feel guilty about their money because they’re living a lifestyle that their parents or grandparents never imagined they could live, or they have friends or family members that won’t ever make the kind of money they’re making,” he says.
Of course, Edward Jones produces this type of research, in part, because they are hoping that if you feel enough anxiety about your finances, you’ll reach out to them for financial advisor services. That’s certainly one option, if you can afford it. But beyond speaking to a professional, how can you lessen your financial anxiety?
It comes down to three key factors, says Klug: alignment, confidence, and control. Align your spending with your values and aspirations as best you can, have confidence in what you are doing, and feel a sense of control.
That last bit may be the hardest part. So much is outside of our control, whether it’s an ill-advised war in the Middle East driving up gas and energy prices, an ill-advised trade war jacking up the prices of everything else, or a stagnant job market that makes it seem like we’re out of options for advancement.
But getting even a little clarity on what you want out of your money can help alleviate a lot of anxiety, Klug says, as can checking off the basics, like paying off high-interest debt and building an emergency fund. In fact, 98% of financially fulfilled Americans report having emergency savings, compared to 45% of financially stressed adults.
“It is not, ‘How much more can I accumulate?’ but ‘What do I want my money to make possible?’” he says.
-Alicia
What else we’re reading (and watching and listening to)
- I finally finished all of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, so I can move on to other books now (luckily, I have a stack on my bedside table). The last one kind of dragged for me, but I’m still interested to hear what other people have to say, if you’ve read them! -Alicia
- Alicia shared with me this New York Times story about developers selling homebuyers master-plan communities as the solution to our isolation crisis. I’m all for the development of more walkable neighborhoods, and I’m a big proponent of getting to know your neighbors, but I found something kind of creepy about this trend. -Lindsey
- Shoutout to the student journalists at The Cornell Sun for breaking the news about the horrific fraternity sexual assault case, and for the editoral board’s extremely ballsy editorial calling on administrators to do more to protect students on campus. -Alicia (Related: I loved this interview with The Cornell Sun reporter and editor-in-chief in The Cut. -Lindsey)
- So the Trump administration went ahead and auto-enrolled 60 million children in Trump Accounts, which is interesting to say the least! (Auto-enrollment can be a good thing! But the administration’s motives might be suss!) Anyway, if you have a kid under the age of 18, you might want to claim your account. I wrote about how to do it for Babylist. It takes five minutes. -Lindsey
The Purse classifieds
- The Purse is now offering classified ads in our Friday newsletter for $150 an ad! Email classifieds@thepurse.co for more info.
- Interested in sponsoring a whole newsletter? Reach out to partnerships@thepurse.co.
On our radar
- This fall, we will be working with The Washington Post on a few stories related to the sandwich generation and caregiving. We are hoping to speak, on the record, to people who have:
- Inherited a home and are willing to talk about all of the financial (and emotional) complications that come with that. If you’re interested, reach out to Alicia at alicia@thepurse.co.
- Rebuilt their careers or reentered the workforce after caregiving for parents, children, or other family members. If you’re interested, reach out to Lindsey at lindsey@thepurse.co.
- Are you a hiring manager, successful job seeker, recruiter, or someone who just has a lot of opinions? Alicia wants to know what advice you have for job seekers in 2026. How can we update advice for job seekers so it’s reflective of the current moment? What works well in specific industries, and what should be avoided?
- This Sunday, October 4, Lindsey will be joining the team at Krazy Coupon Lady for their New Parent Saving Session, a webinar all about the big and small ways families can save money. It’s free! More info here.
TikTok of the week
@aliciaadamczyk_ September 29, 2026: What Indeed’s new report tells us about the job market (probably nothing you didn’t know!). #economy #jobsearch #career
♬ original sound - aliciatalksmoney
What else we published on The Purse this week
For paid subscribers, our most recent Home Ec features a 39-year-old single woman who is paying off $85k in debt while living in New York City. As one commenter said, it’s “good perspective that salaried jobs aren’t necessarily as stable or freedom-giving as we think.”
Lindsey Stanberry
Alicia bought some new shoes—what about you?
Alicia Adamczyk
If you want to know how much you can make in public accounting in the Midwest, check out the most recent Work History!
Alicia Adamczyk
Best money we spent this week
- Chris and I braved the nor’easter to see one of his favorite jazz musicians, Pat Metheny, play at the Beacon Theater on Saturday. I surprised Chris with the tickets, and he was nice enough to buy me a glass of rosé at the show. He was especially happy to hear “First Circle,” which Metheny apparently hasn’t played in 40 years! The new band was killer, and I was sitting there thinking how nice it is to be able to watch someone perform who’s spent 50 years at their craft. Life is really cool sometimes! ($200) -Alicia
- Our friends hosted my family for dinner last night in their sukkah. It’s become an annual tradition, and it’s one of my favorites. They cooked a really lovely meal, and we ate together at a long table with all our kids (seven total among three families), which felt like such a fun treat on a school night. We brought a six-pack—a very small price of admission for such a lovely evening! ($12) -Lindsey
