Amid record inflation, 36% of employees earning $100,000 or more say they are living paycheck to paycheck

More than a third of high-earning American workers feel like they don't have enough money.

Thirty-six percent of U.S. employees with salaries of $100,000 or more are living paycheck to paycheck, double the number who said they were in 2019.

34% of workers who make $50,000 to $100,000 a year are living paycheck to paycheck, but lower than the 52% of workers who make less than $50,000 a year.

The only group that experienced an increase in their paycheck-to-paycheck ranks in the last three years was the high-earners.

The cost to finance a new car hits a record $656 a month.

Mark Smrecek said that employees at higher pay levels aren't immune to living paycheck to paycheck.

Before the most recent inflation readings, 9,658 full-time employees from large and mid-sized private employers were surveyed by the consulting firm.

34% of people earning at least $250,000 a year live paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent survey by LendingClub.

Smrecek said that rising costs for food, transportation and other areas of household budgets may put more stress on families.

The consumer price index was up 8.6% in May, the highest inflation reading in about 40 years. The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage points on Wednesday in order to rein in consumer costs.

Smrecek said that the numbers are likely to increase if inflation continues.

Income can affect the drivers of financial stress. Smrecek said that the highest earner cited housing expenses as the most acute challenge, while low earner cited difficulties with debt.

Employers have anecdotally pointed to increased costs for rents and mortgage as workers relocated during the Pandemic, according to Smrecek. Workers with higher incomes are more likely to have jobs that let them work from home.

Financial planners say Americans who are strapped for cash should try to adopt a 50-20-30 rule. 50% of after-tax income is allocated to essential expenses, 30% to discretionary expenses, and 20% to savings, investment and debt reduction.