About half of U.S. adults are struggling with their mental health because of their financial situation. 

Forty-seven percent of adults say concerns about money have, at least occasionally, caused anxiety, stress, worrisome thoughts, loss of sleep, depression or other effects, according to Bankrate’s latest Money and Mental Health Survey.

About 65% of them say their biggest concern is inflation and rising prices, and nearly 60% say their stress derives from paying for everyday expenses such as groceries and utilities. About 56% say they are worried about having enough emergency savings, and 47% are most concerned about being in debt, according to the survey. 

AMERICANS EXPECT HIGH INFLATION TO STICK AROUND IN LATEST NY FED SURVEY

“That’s why this is such an important strain. In fact, now we’re talking about necessities. People are worried about daily expenses,” Bankrate senior industry analyst Ted Rossman told FOX Business. “They’re worried about rent and groceries and other near term bills.”

As of November, over 60% of households were living paycheck to paycheck, according to data from LendingClub.

INFLATION REDUCES BUYING POWER AS $100 GOES A LOT LESS FAR THESE DAYS

Meanwhile, a January Bankrate report underscored how more than a third of U.S. consumers have more credit card debt than emergency savings. 

Rossman blamed persisting inflation, which has fallen considerably from a peak of 9.1%, but progress has largely flatlined since the summer. 

The aforementioned data, according to Rossman, underscores how “a lot of people are very close to the edge.” 

Notably, “people don’t feel good because inflation is gobbling up whatever gains they are making,” he added. 

To make matters worse, Americans are even bracing for high inflation to stick around over the next few years, according to a key Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey published Monday.

The stress can be even more unfathomable for the main financial contributor of the family, Grant Gallagher, the head of wellbeing at Affinity Federal Credit Union, told FOX Business. 

“They shoulder the emotional burden of paying for essentials, and when they can’t, or even struggle to do so, they feel like a failure,” said Gallagher, who also blamed inflation for inflicting a lot of this stress. 

Even if someone is able to afford and make the payments, whether it is related to student loans or credit cards, the “lack of visible progress for decades long loans such as student loans or mortgages can be disheartening,” he added. 

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Not only that, but with higher cost of essentials, Gallagher also said the pressure to earn a high income or maintain a particular lifestyle is increasingly growing, which in itself can lead to chronic stress, burnout, anxiety and even lead to feelings of inadequacy. 

“What was once considered a high income is now what’s needed to afford the essentials,” he said, citing a recent GOBankingRates report, which revealed that on average, 22 states require a net income over $80,000 to afford the average cost of what most consider the essentials for a family of four. 

FOX Business’ Megan Henney contributed to this report. 

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“Roaring Kitty” is back in the spotlight after suddenly becoming active again on social media.

The famous meme stock retail trader, widely identified as Keith Gill, broke his “Roaring Kitty” X account’s roughly three-year streak of dormancy on Sunday night with a picture depicting a seated video game player leaning forward. Prior to that, his most recent post on X was from June 2021.

Sunday’s post and the numerous subsequent video clips that he flooded his timeline with Monday were followed by GameStop and other so-called “meme stocks” posting massive jumps in their stock prices. 

GAMESTOP SHARES SOAR AFTER ‘ROARING KITTY’ POSTS ON X

While giving testimony to Congress three years ago, the retail trader offered some details about himself, including that he was raised in Massachusetts and the first in his family to obtain a bachelor’s degree. 

Media outlets first tied Gill to the “Roaring Kitty” accounts on X and YouTube, as well as the username “DeepF*ckingValue” on Reddit, in early 2021 amid the Reddit day trader-driven short squeeze of GameStop.  

The price of GameStop stock saw a massive increase in late January 2021, hitting $483 at one point during Jan. 28 trading. That occurred after retail and Reddit traders went against short-sellers and hedge funds, as FOX Business previously reported. Other companies whose shares are now considered “meme stocks” also experienced surges.

Gill is linked to that 2021 meme stock frenzy through the favorable opinions about GameStop and the updates on his investment in the video game retailer that he posted on his social media accounts. 

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His involvement was recently depicted in the movie “Dumb Money” directed by Craig Gillespie and based on the book “The Antisocial Network” by author Ben Mezrich. The filmmakers cast Paul Dano as Gill.

During his testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services in February 2021, Gill said his “investment in GameStop and my posts on social media were entirely my own” derived solely from publicly available information.

He learned about investing overall from jobs he held and time he spent analyzing stocks outside of work, according to his testimony.

“The idea that I used social media to promote GameStop stock to unwitting investors is preposterous,” he testified at the time. “I was abundantly clear that my channel was for educational purposes only and that my aggressive style of investing was unlikely to be suitable for most folks checking out the channel.”

REDDIT’S GAMESTOP SHORT SQUEEZE BECOMES ‘DUMB MONEY’ MOVIE

He said he was driven to put money in GameStop by a belief that the retailer was “dramatically undervalued.”

Breck Dumas contributed to this report.

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Americans are racking up more credit card debt as still-high inflation and steep interest rates continue to make the cost of everyday necessities more expensive. 

The New York Federal Reserve Bank’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, slated for release on Tuesday morning, is expected to show that credit card debt hit a new record during the three-month period from January to March, smashing a previous high of $1.13 trillion, according to Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst LendingTree.

“Credit card balances have never risen from the fourth quarter of one year to the first quarter of the following year. I think there’s a good chance we’ll see a first-of-its-kind increase in tomorrow’s report, which would mark a new record for Americans’ credit card balances,” Schulz said.

The expected spike marks a major reversal from 2020, when consumers were rapidly paying down their credit card bills as the result of stay-at-home mandates and an influx of stimulus money. 

AMERICANS EXPECT HIGH INFLATION TO STICK AROUND IN LATEST NY FED SURVEY

Since then, credit card debt has exploded. From 2021 to the end of 2023, credit balances jumped 47% – the steepest three-year climb on record.

The ongoing inflation crisis is one reason that consumers are increasingly relying on credit cards to pay their bills.

“High inflation and high interest rates are significantly contributing to Americans’ debt loads and making this debt harder to pay off,” Schulz said. 

While inflation has fallen considerably from a peak of 9.1% notched during June 2022, it remains well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal. Additionally, when compared with January 2021, shortly before inflation began to surge, prices are up a stunning 18.9%.

SMALL BUSINESSES ARE RACKING UP CREDIT CARD DEBT, RAISING SOME CONCERNS

High inflation has created severe financial pressures for most U.S. households, which are forced to pay more for everyday necessities like food and rent. Grocery prices are up 21% from the start of 2021, while shelter costs are up 20.4%, according to FOX Business calculations. Energy prices, meanwhile, are up 32.8%.

Americans are paying on average $784 more each month compared with the same time two years ago and $1,069 more compared with three years ago, according to Moody’s Analytics.

The rise in credit card usage and debt is particularly concerning because interest rates are astronomically high right now. The average credit card annual percentage rate, or APR, is hovering around 20.66%, near a record high, according to a Bankrate database that goes back to 1985. 

If people are carrying debt to compensate for steeper prices, they could end up paying more for items in the long run. For instance, if someone owes $5,000 in debt – which the average American does – current APR levels would mean it would take about 279 months and $8,124 in interest to pay off the debt making the minimum payments. 

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Schulz encouraged credit card holders with debt to explore their options, including calling and asking for a lower credit card APR, getting a 0% balance transfer credit card, reassessing their budget in order to better tackle the debt, exploring a high-yield savings account to take advantage of high interest rates and focusing on improving their credit score.

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Red Lobster abruptly closed the doors to at least 50 restaurants nationwide on Monday —including a handful in New York and New Jersey, blindsiding employees...