The economy is great, or so we hear.  Well, car loan delinquencies are growing, food prices are higher, and now Americans are dipping into their savings accounts. This is the story:

Inflation is still taking a hefty toll on households, recent reports show.

Prices continued their upward momentum in January, rising 0.5% for the month and 6.4% over the past 12 months, according to the latest consumer price index data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To make ends meet, 27% of Americans said they’ve had to take money out of savings and more than half, or 54%, said they used that money to pay for everyday expenses, such as groceries and rent, the recent Country Financial Security Index found. 

Roughly 64% of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck, according to a LendingClub report -- up from 61% a year earlier and in line with the historic high first hit in March 2020.

“Inflation has shredded household budgets over the past two years, and not just when it comes to one-off discretionary expenses or special occasions, but for keeping up with day-to-day bills,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com.

Keeping up with day-to-day bills? I guess that's harder to do these days.  Call it whatever you want to call it, but it is a problem for mom and dad making ends meet.

Maybe this is why the Gallup poll has President Biden's approval at 37%. It gets worse when you look inside the numbers: 32% economy,  the independents 27%, and so on.

Wonder what his numbers would look like if the media would actually challenge his rosy statements about the U.S. economy?  Of course, it's hard to challenge a president who does not do press conferences or to expect questions from a media still invested in Trump Derangement Syndrome.

How good is the economy?  Just ask neighbor who just dipped into his IRA to pay the rent.

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Image: Marco Verch Professional Photographer