Inflation stresses people out.

New research shows that nearly half of American workers are financially stressed.

20% regularly run out of money between paychecks.

“In general, people have to spend more to get the same things. Another reason is that while wages are going up, for a lot of people they are getting less money because government programs, covid relief time programs have kind of come to an end,” said Dan Macklin, CEO of SalaryFinance.

“Added to that is the fact that so many people – 68% of our survey – don’t have money set aside and saved for emergencies,” he said.

A growing number of people are making risky financial choices.

The number of people using payday loans has tripled in the past 12 months.

18% of Americans have used an online installment loan that offers a lower interest rate and longer term than a payday loan.

This can still cost you hundreds of additional dollars in interest or late fees.

“Financial stress exists at all income levels – pretty much all income levels. So there are things we need to do better. We have to borrow smarter, we have to borrow a certain way, at lower interest rates,” Macklin said.

“That’s not to say that most of our money goes to interest charges. We need to save better. We need to be more disciplined in having emergency savings and putting money into it,” he continued.

More than a quarter of U.S. companies offer a worker benefits loan program.

These loans are repaid on future paychecks and have a lower interest rate than riskier options, such as payday loans.

Other companies offer emergency savings accounts.

These accounts take a small portion of each paycheck until you need them in an emergency.

You can set up a similar system yourself, using direct deposit and a second bank account.