Study: Most Americans cite food costs and retirement savings as main financial concerns

When it comes to financial stress, most Americans are concerned about putting food on their tables and being able to enjoy a comfortable retirement.

According to a new Quinnipiac University poll that queried nearly 1,800 adults, food costs were identified as the greatest current financial concern by 22% of respondents, followed by retirement savings (18%), health care costs (17%), mortgage or rent payments (13%), college tuition (8%), energy bills (7%), credit card or loan payments (5%) and loss of a job (4%).

However, financial concerns varied among different age demographics: 18 to 34 year olds cited mortgage or rent payments as their top worry (23%), while 35 to 49 year olds cited food costs (24%) and those 50 and older focused on retirement savings (25%).

Efforts to save money by delaying or jettisoning planned purchases and activities have dominated American spending habits, with most survey respondents acknowledging they have cut back on dining out (63%), going out to entertainment or sports events (62%), vacation planning (61%), clothes shopping (61%), consumer electronics (52%) and home improvement projects (52%).

And many respondents have decided to delay pursuing life-changing endeavors such as buying a vehicle (31%), buying a home (27%), receiving medical treatment (19%), having children (13%) and getting married (11%). But 35% of Americans said they have not had to delay any of these things.

When asked how difficult it would be to pay an unexpected bill of $1,000 right away, slightly more than half of respondents (52%) said it would be either very difficult (25%) or somewhat difficult (27%), while 47% say it would be not so difficult (20%) or not difficult at all (27%). Roughly four in 10 respondents (42%) said they have less in savings compared to a year ago and 27% said they have more debt compared to a year ago.