- - Half of wealthy Americans have lied about a Venmo glitch to avoid paying the bill. Why even 6-figure earners are 'stretched, struggling or drowning'

Vawn HimmelsbachDecember 20, 2025 at 3:00 AM

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A man paying the bill at a restaurant.

A recent survey suggests that a six-figure income doesn’t guarantee that you’ll live the ‘American dream.’ The Harris Poll’s Income Paradox Survey (1) revealed that 1 in 3 Americans who earn $100,000 or more are “stretched, struggling, or drowning financially, proof that comfort has become elusive even for high-income Americans.”

Almost two-thirds of respondents (64%) say six figures is “no longer a sign of wealth but survival mode.” Instead of luxuries, that extra money is going toward groceries, housing and health care, while savings, wellness and vacations are now “nice-to-have.”

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But keeping up the illusion of success means making sacrifices such as delaying plans or racking up credit card debt. And for some, it means skipping meals and Venmo fibs. Nearly half of respondents (48%) earning more than $200,000, who represent the top 10% of U.S. earners, say they’ve pretended their payment app — like Venmo or Zelle — wasn’t working to avoid paying.

Of all six-figure earners in the survey, 43% say they skip social events to avoid splitting the bill, 40% use BNPL (buy now pay later) for purchases under $100 and 53% check their bank account before buying groceries.

Chandra Kelsey told CBS News that her family of five often relies on help from their local food bank even though their household income is $150,000 — but that’s before taxes.

“We have mortgage, insurance. We’ve got one kid on the way to college, one in college. Something as small as a $1,000 expense could throw things off significantly,” Kelsey said (2).

Understanding the affordability crisis

Affordability has become a hot topic in the U.S., one that helped propel Zohran Mamdani to victory in the New York mayoral race and is playing a role in President Donald Trump’s sinking poll numbers (3).

During a Cabinet meeting in early December, Trump called affordability a Democratic “scam” and “a con job” (4). But as affordability concerns mount, Republicans are growing anxious about next year’s midterm elections (5). And, before she decided to resign from Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene accused the current administration of “infuriating people” by “gaslighting” them on affordability (6).

While inflation has cooled since the early days of the pandemic, many Americans are still feeling the pinch. Almost half of Americans (47%) say it’s harder “to afford groceries now than it was a year ago,” according to a September survey by Axios and The Harris Poll (7).

They’re not imagining higher prices at the grocery store. While overall inflation — at 3.0% as of September (8) — is down from pandemic highs in 2022 (reaching 9.1% in June 2022), food prices as of September were 18.2% higher than in January 2022, according to the CBS News price tracker (9).

“Both food insecurity and food inflation have crept up in 2025. Through November, the food insecurity rate in the U.S. has been 14.2%,” according to Purdue University’s data snapshot (10).

Then there’s housing. Although there are some signs of improvement, high home prices and high mortgage rates combined with stagnant wages are leaving many Americans house poor — meaning they’re paying more than 30% of their income on housing.

Homeowners in urban areas need to earn an annual income of $118,300 to afford a typical home, which has risen 87.5% from $63,103 before the pandemic. Rural areas saw an even bigger jump — at 105.8% — according to a report from Redfin (11).

“All my life, I thought that was the magical goal, ‘six figures,’” wrote one Reddit user. “During the pandemic, I finally achieved this magical goal … and I was wrong. No huge celebration. No big brick house in the suburbs. Definitely no boat” (12).

Americans are also paying more for utilities and insurance, straining household budgets.

The average monthly energy bill rose from $196 to $265 — a 35% jump — from March 2022 to June 2025, according to analysis of consumer credit data by The Century Foundation and Protect Borrowers. “Nearly one in twenty households — equivalent to roughly 14 million Americans — have utility debt so severe that it was sent or soon will be sent to collections” (13).

For families, raising a child is also getting more expensive, with an annual cost of $29,419, according to LendingTree. Compared to rent, the “average monthly cost of infant care across the 100 largest U.S. metros is 25.3% lower than the average monthly cost of rent for a two-bedroom unit, while caring for an infant and a 4-year-old costs 31.5% more than rent” (14).

“I just did the math and realized that if we had another kid, I would only take home about $500 left over from my paycheck each month if we continue with day care,” wrote another Reddit user who makes over $100K. “I really would like another kid but the financial reality of what that means is just soul crushing” (15).

Then there’s rising health care costs, with workers expected to see paycheck deductions for health coverage rise by about 6% to 7% on average in 2026, according to an analysis from consulting group Mercer. “At the same time, because many employers will raise deductibles and copays to limit premium increases, higher out-of-pocket spending may also be a factor for some employees” (16).

Read More: Many Americans overpay for these 5 ‘must-have’ items — how many are on your list?

What to do if you’re scraping by

If you feel like you’re just scraping by, you’re not alone — but you can start by making a budget (if you don’t already have one) and looking for opportunities to save money. Maybe start by canceling subscriptions you’re no longer using or installing a price comparison browser extension that scans for better deals when you shop.

With the cost of insurance going up, it’s worth shopping around for cheaper car and home insurance. For example, according to Consumer Reports’ 2024 auto insurance survey, 30% of respondents who switched insurers in the past five years saw a median annual savings of $461 (17).

If you have high-interest debt, including credit card debt, consider refinancing with a lower-cost debt consolidation loan. If you have a high interest rate on your credit card, you might want to look into a balance transfer credit card with a low or 0% promotional APR (typically 12 to 18 months). The key is to save money on interest while you pay down your debt, but you’ll need to be disciplined (and not use it to rack up more debt).

If you’re already stretched about as thin as you can get, it may be time to start looking for ways to bring in more cash. While it’s easier said than done, it could mean looking for a higher-paying job (which could require upskilling or reskilling), asking for a promotion or raise, taking on a side hustle or bringing in passive income, such as renting out a room in your house or looking for a roommate.

More extreme measures could involve downsizing to a smaller home or moving to a region with a lower cost of living. It may be worth talking to your financial advisor about your options and how to meet future goals —while, ideally, avoiding Venmo fibs.

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Article sources

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

The Harris Poll (1); CBS News (2), (9); The Straits Times (3); CNN (4); Politico (5); The Hill (6); Axios (7); Bureau of Labor Statistics (8); Purdue University (10); Redfin (11); Reddit: r/Millennials (12), r/workingmoms (15); The Century Foundation (13); LendingTree (14); Mercer (16); Consumer Reports (17)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Money”