Middle-income Americans are continuing to feel financial strain and say their income is being outpaced by the rising cost of living, according to a new analysis by Primerica. Middle-Income Financial Security Monitor quarterly survey on Thursday, which showed that 68% of middle-income Americans said their income is falling behind the cost of living – a figure that has remained steady in the last two years. "I wouldn't say $1,000 is enough for an emergency fund for most families, but it's a nice start," he explained. "One of the things that has been our kind of fundamental advice since the beginning over 49 years of doing this – you need to build an emergency fund that's at least six months of income if you can. That's very difficult for most middle-income families, but it's a good goal."