Americans are more optimistic about their personal finances than at any point in 16 years, with 69 percent reporting that they expect to be better off financially at this time next year, according to Gallup. The figure is only two points below the record high of 71 percent recorded in March 1998. Just 16 percent said they expect to be worse off next year.
Meanwhile, 50 percent of Americans report that they are better off now than they were a year before, up from 23 percent a decade ago. Just 26 percent said they were worse off than a year before, a figure not seen since October 2000.