U.S. Consumers Report Record Financial Pessimism as Inflation Pressures Persist

The strongest validated source is the Federal Reserve page "The Fed - Expenses," which supports a closely related but narrower claim: 54% of adults said higher prices versus a year earlier made their financial situation worse. That aligns with the user’s phrase about higher prices being the main factor. However, this source does not say 54% viewed their overall financial situation as worse than a year ago, and it does not establish that this was a record level of financial pessimism. The Gallup result "Americans' Economic, Financial Expectations Sink in April" appears from search to support a record-high pessimism framing, but because that page could not be fetched, it remains unvalidated. Therefore, the statement as written appears to blend at least two different findings and is only partially supported by validated evidence.