Fifty-one percent of Americans say they have had to significantly cut back on their spending recently, and  49% who say they haven't, according to a recent Gallup Panel survey.

Many Americans are pointing to rising prices for gas and food as a major part of their financial stress, the poll said.  Lower-income Americans are feeling the brunt of the rising prices,  and represent the gorup that has had to cut back the most on basics.

According to the poll, seven in 10 Americans living in households earning less than $35,000 a year say they have had to cut back on their spending recently. On the other end of the spectrum, the polls shows that most of those earning $75,000 or more per year have yet to feel enough of a financial pinch to force them to scale back their spending. Only 36% say they have.