Pain at the pump, skyrocketing food prices, and the crisis in the housing market.

They're just some of the thing Kentucky families are having to deal with each day.

In the exclusive WKYT/Herald-Leader Kentucky Poll, 36 percent of Kentuckians say they're pessimistic about their own family's financial situation over the next 12 months.

Just one in four are optimistic things will get better.

In the poll, of 600 likely voters, 34 percent said ever-climbing gas prices are the number one economic challenge impacting their family.

33 percent say higher food prices, caused by higher gas prices, are their biggest gripe.

16 percent say higher home prices are impacting their lives.

Other concerns, among those polled, include rising college tuition, unemployment, and the stock market.

Another finding from the poll: four out of every ten Democrats are pessimistic about the next 12 months, while three out of every ten Republicans are.