Making Ends Meet in 2024: Insights from the Making Ends Meet Survey
Overall financial stability and well-being deteriorated from 2023 to 2024. The deterioration occurred across demographic groups and measures. Financial well-being measured using the CFPB’s scale fell and the share of consumers with the lowest financial well-being increased. More households had difficulty paying bills or expenses. Fewer households could cover a month of expenses if they lost their main source of income. These changes place overall financial health around where it was in 2019—and slightly worse by some measures—after the sharp improvement in financial health that started in 2020. Meanwhile, large disparities in financial stability and health continue across income, racial, and ethnic groups. Access to credit remains difficult for many consumers.