"I am not protected or immune to the economic situation in the world, regardless of how much money I make," said Fleckenstein, 81, of Westport, Conn. "There are things that we would like to do or planned to do that we are not."

Across the country, Americans struggling with higher food and energy costs are more worried about their personal finances than at any time since the early 1990s, according to the latest Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll.

Nearly 2 out of 5 people say the state of their personal finances is fairly shaky or very shaky, the poll found. And for the first time since 1993, the percentage of people who said their finances were very or fairly secure fell below 60 percent -- to 57 percent, said Times Poll Director Susan Pinkus. "Anything below 60 percent is sort of like a warning sign of what's coming next," Pinkus said. "It paints the picture of a very grim, weakened economy that is affecting how people are going to spend."

More than three-quarters of those polled said they thought the economy has fallen into a recession and that the country was "seriously off on the wrong track."

Half of those polled said 2008 would be a below-average year for the stock market, and 56 percent of registered voters said the economy should be the top priority for the presidential campaign -- a shift from December, when the majority said Iraq should be the candidates' focus.

Money worries plague Americans across the financial spectrum. Of those making between US$60,000 and US$100,000 a year, 26 percent described their finances as shaky; 10 percent of those making more than US$100,000, including Fleckenstein, used the same terminology.

"I just bought gasoline at US$3.96, and milk is about off the chart," Fleckenstein said in a follow-up interview after participating in the poll, in which he indicated that he had income of more than US$100,000 a year. Even so, "It isn't easy today," he said.

The poll also found a sharp racial disparity in how Americans view their finances. Although 61 percent of whites and 54 percent of other racial groups polled said their personal economic situation was secure, 39 percent of blacks described their finances in positive terms.

More than half of blacks polled, 53 percent, said their finances were shaky; 34 percent of whites and 42 percent of other ethnic groups polled expressed similar concerns.

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