Hispanolistic | E+ | Getty ImagesMany young adults have financial stress, and experts say there’s a simple safety net that could help.About 61% of surveyed Americans of ages 18 to 35 are financially stressed, according to a new Intuit survey. About 21% of respondents say their stress has gotten worse over the past year.Some of the biggest stressors included high cost of living, job instability and growing housing costs. Of those who identified as financially stressed, 32% said handling unexpected emergencies like medical bills, car repairs and home maintenance trigger their anxiety with cash, the report found.The site polled 2,000 adults of ages 18 to 35 in December.Young adults lack a plan for money emergenciesSome of the stress can come from not having a plan — about 32% of all survey respondents admit they lack a clear strategy for managing money setbacks, Intuit found.Almost half, or 45%, of the group say handling unexpected expenses was a challenge, and 29% have difficulty saving money.A new report by Bankrate reflects a similar picture. The report found that older generations are more likely to say they could pay for an unexpected $1,000 emergency expense from their savings.More from Personal Finance:Whatever happens with TikTok, ‘finfluencers’ are here to stayThis $106 million settlement offers a key tax lessonNow is an ‘ideal time’ to reassess your retirement savingsAbout 59% of baby boomers, or those of ages 61 to 79, can pay for a $1,000 surprise expense from savings. The cohort is followed by 42% of Gen Xers, or of ages 45 to 60. Yet, only 32% of millennials — ages 29 to 44 — and 28% of Gen Z adults — ages 18 to 28 — have the cash readily available, according to the survey, which polled 1,039 respondents ages 18 and older in early December.”The youngest generations are those who are earliest in their financial journey,” said Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst at Bankrate.’Setting ourselves up for failure’ without savingsFinancial emergencies can catch us by surprise, from needing a locksmith because you lost your keys to unexpectedly losing your job. The best thing you can do to prepare is have savings set aside and carefully using lines of credit, experts say.”For emergencies, it’s really having that cash reserve in place. That is the financial plan,” said certified financial planner Clifford Cornell, an associate financial advisor at Bone Fide Wealth in New York City.Having an emergency savings fund is like having a bulletproof vest, Hamrick explained.”They won’t save you in all outcomes, but it’s a good start,” he said.Many Gen Zers need to gear up. About 80% of the cohort are more likely than other generations to worry about not having enough money to cover living expenses if they lost their primary job, per Bankrate data.That’s compared to 72% of millennials, 72% of Gen Xers and 58% of baby boomers.”We’re really setting ourselves up for failure if we don’t have sufficient emergency savings,” Hamrick said.How to
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