A new study finds middle-class Americans are less optimistic about their economic prospects than they were six months ago.
CUNA Mutual Group first surveyed 1,288 people in the fall of 2018. The respondents at the time gave themselves a "B minus" when asked to evaluate their prospects for achieving the American Dream. That grade has dropped to a C.
Additionally, just two-thirds of the respondents said they were only "somewhat confident" about their personal economic position.
"Americans keep hearing that this is the longest economic expansion in history," said Steven Rick, CUNA Mutual's chief economist.
"People's expectations are that we are due" for a recession.
"This should be a wake-up call to families to start shoring up their finances now, whether that takes the form of cutting spending, reassessing their savings to avoid having to cut into their retirement to stay afloat, or even refinancing a mortgage if that'll put them in a better position," Rick said.
Female respondents were more pessimistic about the current economy as well as parents – people with children are more concerned the U.S. will enter a recession in 2020 compared to people without children (54% to 47%).
CUNA surveyed adults ages 18 or older who make an annual income of $35,000 to less than $100,000.
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