Poll: Almost half of Americans stressing out about debt

A need to consolidate debt appears to be widespread among U.S. citizens, according to a recent Associated Press/GfK poll which found that 46 percent of respondents said that they felt either "quite a bit" or "a great deal" of stress about their personal finances.

An Associated Press story discussing the survey’s finding said there may be several reasons why consumers are not pleased with the overall state of the economy: "For starters, it doesn’t feel much like a recovery to many people. Unemployment is at 9.9 percent. Many with a job have seen paychecks shrink. A growing number of people are at risk of falling into foreclosure, and only those with good credit can get a new loan."

The poll also indicated that a small but growing minority described the state of the U.S. economy as "good," which some experts construe as a further measure of the growing consumer confidence among Americans.

Numerous recent economic indicators have risen slightly, causing some to say that the financial crisis is over, although these positive moves have been leavened by renewed downturns, such as those in the EU.