Money

Newsweek -    More Americans are relying on personal loans to pay for routine living expenses, as inflation, high housing costs and rising debt burdens continue to squeeze household finances, according to a new report from LendingTree.

The report, compiled from online inquiries about personal loans on the LendingTree platform from April 2025 through March 2026, found that 8.2 percent of personal loan requests on the platform are now being used for everyday bills, making it the fourth most common reason people seek a loan.

That figure has more than doubled from 3.4 percent in 2023, when everyday expenses ranked as only the 10th most common borrowing reason.

The findings point to growing financial strain among borrowers who are increasingly turning to loans not for large purchases or debt restructuring, but to cover basic essentials such as groceries, utilities and rent. It comes at a time when the U.S. has recorded its highest inflation in four years—3.8 percent in April—mostly driven by high fuel and energy costs.

The report found those borrowers seeking loans for everyday bills requested an average of $4,317, among the lowest loan amounts tracked in the report. They also had relatively low credit scores, averaging 574, compared with the average U.S. consumer FICO score of 713, according to Experian data cited in the report.

.Younger borrowers are the most likely to seek personal loans for routine expenses. Among Generation Z borrowers ages 18 to 29, 10.5 percent of loan requests were for everyday bills. 

.... Ali Zane, personal finance expert and CEO of IMAX Credit Repair Firm, said the figures show there are broader economic pressures facing younger Americans, rather than irresponsible spending habits.

"There is nothing about Gen Z being spendthrift and careless in the data stating 10.5 percent of Gen Z personal loan requests go for everyday expenses against 5.6 percent of such loans for baby boomers," Zane told Newsweek.