#financial-insecurity

#financial-insecurity

Growing up outside Manchester, I remember watching my mum count out exact change at the supermarket checkout, keeping a running total in her head as she shopped. Meanwhile, my university roommate would just toss things in his trolley without a second thought. That's when it hit me: Financial security isn't just about having money. It's about the mental space that money creates.

It's human nature to judge your personal economics and mood on how you feel, influenced heavily by conscious and subconscious comparisons to others. So it's possible President Trump is right: U.S. growth and stocks soar in 2026. But even then, because the AI-connected hyperwealthy do so much better than everyone else, fear and resentment still grow. It's also possible the AI bubble pops, and everyone suffers. But the Have-Lots will (mostly) still have lots.

Twice as many Americans believe their financial security is getting worse than better, according to an exclusive new poll conducted for the Guardian, and they are increasingly blaming the White House. The poll, conducted by Harris, will be a further blow to Donald Trump's efforts to fight off criticism of his handling of the economy and contains some worrying findings for the president.

My baby My baby, he don't have nothing My baby My baby he don't have nothing to give But he gives it to me Yeah, he gives it to me Quit dreaming Quit dreaming amount to something You're scheming Believing in old love that got away That there's still a way Find you someone who makes a living Sweet, sweet nothings aren't worth investing Sweet, sweet nothings just nothing after, oh But cold cash comforts are overrated When your lover's got funds depleted

Ann Hummond knew the office software like the back of her hand. Based in Yorkshire, England, she could untangle any spreadsheet snafu in her sleep. Over the past 23 years, she had worked her way up from a data entry clerk to her finance company's administrative director, quietly becoming the person everyone relied on when things went sideways. She was, in short, indispensable.

As a millennial, financial insecurity has been a theme in my life for a while. But recently, it's grown louder, and I literally can't stop asking: WHERE IS THE GODDAMN MONEY?

Liz Kendall's announcement of a new review into the state pension age has drawn a strong response from readers, who feel increasingly squeezed by reforms they see as unfair and unrealistic.