A survey cited by CNBC shows that, on average, it takes between three and five years to recover from a financial setback, and that's even when the world isn't in the middle of a crisis. The poll, which was taken in January, found that 75 percent of respondents had, at some point or another in their past, experienced at least one major financial setback, and about 35 percent of those who did said it had cost them $100,000 or more. Of those who experienced a financial setback, 40 percent said it took them between three to five years to get back on track.

And keep in mind, this was all before the global pandemic. Since then, a large number of people across the world have been encountering financial setbacks. Data from the Census Bureau indicates that nearly half of Americans have lost at least some income over the past few months due to the pandemic. Across all education levels, 47 percent have lost income due to widespread lockdowns and other coronavirus-related disruption. As one might expect, this number rises the less education one has and shrinks the more; it is 56 percent for those with only some high school education, 51 percent for those with only a high school degree or some college, and 38 percent for those with a bachelor's degree or higher. Among those who lost income, 15 percent of homeowners and 26 percent of renters said they could not make their monthly payments and had to either skip or defer them; within this group, 10 percent of homeowners and 20 percent of renters have little confidence they'll be able to pay next month either.