If you look at recent macroeconomic reports from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy seems to be fine. Gross domestic product rose by 2.2 percent in the second quarter of 2026, personal income rose by 0.2 percent in August, and the unemployment rate remained at 4.2 percent.
For millions of Americans, however, their personal numbers tell a different story.
New data from the Pew Research Center shows that 27 percent of U.S. adults say they can’t fully pay some of their bills in a typical month. And this isn’t just an issue for the poorest Americans. Nearly one-quarter of middle-income Americans, 22 percent, say the same thing.
For lower-income households, money is tight. According to the Pew survey, 71 percent of those earning less than $50,700 annually, adjusted to a three-person household, experienced difficulty paying for at least one basic necessity over the past year. This includes housing, medical care, transportation and food.
For households struggling with choosing among which bills to pay, the question becomes which ones should be paid first and what to do about the rest.
Which bills should you pay first?
Rachel Schneider, founder and CEO of Canary, which helps employers and other organizations provide financial relief to workers, said in an interview that people facing a financial shortfall often find themselves making difficult choices about which bill to prioritize.
Housing is generally a top priority, since once someone finds themselves unhoused, the rest of their lives can spiral out of control.
But eviction often takes time, and even falling behind on rent is not necessarily an immediate concern when other bills are pressing, Schneider said. “The priority should be preventing the most damaging consequences,” she added. An Uber driver who misses a car payment, for example, could lose the ability to earn income if their vehicle is repossessed.
Late payments on a credit card can trigger additional fees and lower your credit score. But if the alternative is not putting gas in your car to get to work or not paying the heating bill, missing a card payment or two may be a better option.
Schneider suggested evaluating bills based on the consequences of not paying them, rather than simply paying whichever one is due next.
That doesn’t mean ignoring the remaining bills. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends contacting credit card issuers as soon as you run into financial difficulty. By explaining the problem, you may be able to arrange for reduced payments or temporary relief before falling behind.
Managing credit card debt
Credit cards can be helpful if you’re trying to bridge a short-term financial crisis and expect additional income down the road. Using them as a permanent crutch, however, can create a long-term problem.
Ashley Morgan, attorney and owner of Ashley F. Morgan Law, also emphasized that individual circumstances matter. For a household with bills of $3,000 and only $2,200 in funds available to pay them, she suggested putting housing, utilities and essential transportation ahead of unsecured credit card payments.
But the real issue, Morgan said, is whether that $800 shortfall is a one-time predicament or a chronic issue. Bridging that gap once or twice with credit cards or payment plans may provide a reasonable short-term fix. But a household that is coming up short every month would quickly fall into a $9,600 hole after a single year.
A number of Morgan’s clients use credit cards to finance basic expenses, she said, and think they’re fine as long as they can afford the minimum payments. “Being current on all your bills doesn’t mean you are financially stable,” Morgan said. “Credit cards have allowed people to postpone recognizing how serious their financial situation has become.”
She recommends that anyone using these types of short-term fixes pay attention to whether their financial situation is actually improving. “If you’ve been doing the same thing for six months, and you’ve made no progress, something needs to change,” she said.
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