Nine In 10 People Expect Ballooning Costs To Squeeze Them Financially

A recent AP/Yahoo News poll found 9 out of 10 respondents worried about how rising gas prices will effect them. Many are already cutting back on other expenses to cover the increase in the cost of a fill up. While some have gone to more economical vehicles, others are cutting back in other areas as well, switching to cheaper alternatives, or in some cases, foregoing additional expenses like summer vacations.

What was interesting in this poll was that it appears that all segments of the population are worried about their economics, and what's in store for them.

According to Alan Fram of the Associated Press, 47% of those surveyed expect higher gas costs to cause serious hardship. " Lower-income people are bearing the brunt of it. As higher prices push grocery, pizza delivery and other costs upward, just over half of those without college degrees – and about the same percentage of those earning less than $50,000 a year – are expecting serious personal financial problems to result."

Fram writes that "... significant numbers of the better-off are feeling pain, too. Four in 10 people in families earning $50,000 to $100,000 annually, and one in six earning more than that, expect serious financial hardships from rising gas costs, as do one in three college graduates...Two-thirds of those earning under $25,000 a year are cooling and heating their homes less, as are nearly six in 10 people earning more than $100,000. Just over four in 10 of the lowest earners are cutting vacation spending – only slightly likelier than those earning at least six figures to do so."