And it doesn't seem to matter a whole lot how much they make, either.

A December survey by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) found that half its respondents said they're living paycheck to paycheck, and even people in higher earnings brackets report financial stress in percentages almost as large as those who earn less: while 85 percent of adults earning under $50,000 per year report being stressed, 80 percent of those earning $50,000 to $74,900 and 79 percent of those earning $75,000 to $99,999 also say they're subject to financial stress.

"Not enough savings" and "too much debt" were the primary reasons people reported for feeling stressed about money, with respondents saying that solving these issues would also provide the most "financial relief."

In every income bracket, the blog reported, "saving is a problem for more than half of adults—even those earning more than $100,000." In addition, major "setbacks" during 2016 were primarily due to routine expenses: car repairs and other transportation issues, home maintenance and repairs and medical care.

More women live paycheck to paycheck, with 51 percent struggling to get by; 45 percent of men live this way.

And the chief reasons reported for their money problems include credit cards (24 percent), "employment struggles (22 percent), paying the rent or mortgage (18 percent), and health care costs (10 percent). Only 15 percent rate the quality of their financial lives as "better than expected."

But those aren't the only drivers of financial stress. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that more than one out of four consumers contacted by debt collectors feel threatened.

More than 40 percent of consumers who said they were approached about a debt in collection, the CFPB said, had requested that a creditor or collector stop contacting them—but 75 percent of those report that debt collectors "did not honor their request to cease contact."

According to CFPB's debt collection survey, about a third of consumers (more than 70 million Americans) were contacted by a creditor or debt collector about a debt in the previous 12 months, with the most common types of debt being medical and credit card debt.

In addition, 27 percent of consumers contacted about debt said they felt threatened by the conduct of the creditor or collector who most recently contacted them.

This is despite the fact that debt collectors are generally prohibited from using harassing, abusive or oppressive tactics.

Collectors called at inconvenient times, despite not having consumers' consent to do so; 36 percent of respondents said they were contacted between 9 PM and 8 AM.

And 37 percent of respondents said debt collectors usually contacted them four or more times in a week. About 20 percent of consumers reported4–7 contact attempts by debt collectors per week, while another 17 percent said a creditor or debt collector tried contacting them eight or more times per week.