Saving for a rainy day? 1 in 4 Americans dont (CNBC) About one-fourth of Americans have no emergency savings, and thats barely changed in the past four years. A households lack of a financial cushion is pervasive across all income levels, according to a new survey from Bankrate. Even among high-earners-with incomes of $75,000 or more-the report found fewer than half of them have saved six months worth of expenses. The age group most likely to have no savings at all are 30 to 49-year-olds. Yet, those are the households that have a house, two cards, three kids, a dog, they need that emergency savings more than anybody else, says Greg McBride, Bankrates chief financial analyst. Experts at Bankrate say the reason savings are so slim is simple: Many Americans just dont have that extra money to sock away. Thats because for many Americans, their paychecks have stayed about the same even as there have been modest increases in expenses for things like food. Thats leaving little wiggle room in the budget. Although some parts of the economy are starting to improve, Bankrates surveys have shown household savings have been weak since polling began in December 2010. The most recent Bankrate survey found that 26 percent of Americans have no emergency savings, about the same as in previous years. About 23 percent had six months or more of savings, which is an ideal amount that many experts had recommended. The rest have some savings, but not six months worth, or did not answer. While unemployment, foreclosure and credit card debt have shown a slow but steady decline over the years, the percentage of people in the U.S. who do not have a personal financial safety net hasnt really budged. A 2014 study by the Corporation For Enterprise Development found that nearly half of households in the United States are liquid asset poor, meaning they have less than three months worth of savings. The average savings is just $5,887 for a family of four. A quarter of the liquid asset poor are middle class households earning between $56,000 and $91,000 a year. The liquid asset poor, according to the CFED study, defy many stereotypes: Most are white, employed, headed by two parents, and nearly half of them have attended college.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 15:03:51 +0000
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