Due to inflation, a lot of adult Americans are delaying significant life events like purchasing a home or a vehicle. 51% of respondents said they postponed big purchases by a year, and 38% said they would postpone because of rising inflation-related prices (a 41-year high). Twenty percent of adult Americans are delaying buying a car. More than 10% are rethinking buying a home. 1,200 Americans participated in a 10-day online survey conducted by Balance, wherein they answered self-completed questions from a panel of respondents selected by a third party market research company. Adult participants handled their own funds, with quotas in place to guarantee fair national representation using projections from the 2019 US Census as a guide. Quotas also matched national political affiliation using the 2022 American Trends Panel from Pew Research as a reference.
AMERICANS RECONSIDERING CHANGING CAREERS
Because of inflation, 10% of those questioned intended to postpone changing careers. 72% of those who planned to change occupations within the next year intended to postpone or possibly reevaluate job changes. Although there were 10.7 million job vacancies in June, the number of job postings fell to its lowest level since September 2021, indicating that hiring is affected by factors such as inflation, the recession, rising interest rates, and anxieties.
DEGREES, WEDDINGS, AND BABIES ALSO ON PAUSE
Due to rising costs, some people are reevaluating major life decisions like attending college or graduate school, getting married, or starting a family. Four percent are delaying weddings, five percent are thinking twice about having children, and six percent intend to postpone graduate or college education. Putting big financial obligations back in order makes sense, especially as inflation is eating into budgets for necessities like groceries and transportation. Given the impending recession, stick to a low-cost spending plan. Regardless of the state of the economy, keep saving and investing to reach your financial objectives.
BUYING A CAR TAKES A BACKSEAT
The largest purchase postponed because of recent price hikes was purchasing a car. 76% of those who intend to purchase a car in the upcoming year say they will put it off permanently. Due to a lack of supply, new cars are not cheap; in June, the average price of a new car was $48,043 with monthly payments of $730. With prices stabilizing due to increased supplies, used automobiles were still reasonably priced; on average, buyers paid $28,012, $300 less than in May. The majority of individuals see inflation at the gas pump, which discourages them from purchasing a car. Many choose to work from home instead of commuting to work; 22% of respondents feel that working remotely is preferable, and 59% of workers do so because of rising petrol prices.
AMERICANS PUT BUYING A HOME ON HOLD AS PRICES RISE
The next common purchase delayed, is buying a house, with 11% delaying to 2023, due to inflation. Those buying a home in 2023, 78% are delaying or even reconsidering. A home purchase is less affordable as mortgage rates rose sharply over the past six months while the average sales price of a home was $416,000 in June, pushing many homebuyers from the market. As the Federal Reserve fights against inflation by hiking interest rates, borrowing is expensive as the interest rates of most loans, including car loans and mortgages, increased. Home prices might slow the upward trend in 2023, as per experts as home prices will increase by 4.3% from June 2022 to June 2023, in contrast to the 18.3% increase from June 2021 to June 2022.
