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70% of Americans Have Less Than $1,000 Saved: Debt-Slave, Credit-Dope Economy
invite response
2016 Oct 10, 10:46am 2,545 views 9 comments
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Take away credit cards, alone, and there would be a Great Depression II within a month to month and a half.
I won't even get into now record auto loan debt, record college loan debt, and nearly pre-2007 level record mortgage debt again (with home ownership at 43 year low), nor medical debt.
Nearly all Americans are on a "what is my monthly payment" - "paycheck-to-paycheck" existence, whether they are making $20,000 or $120,000 (in manh cases $200,000) a year; keeping up, ya know?).
"Nearly seven in 10 Americans (69%) had less than $1,000 in their savings account.
Breaking the survey data down a bit further, we find that 34% of Americans don't have a dime in their savings account, while another 35% have less than $1,000. Of the remaining survey-takers, 11% have between $1,000 and $4,999, 4% have between $5,000 and $9,999, and 15% have more than $10,000.
Furthermore, even though lower-income adults struggle with saving money more than middle- and upper-income folks, no income group did particularly well. Some 29% of adults earning more than $150,000 a year, and 44% making between $100,000 and $149,999, had less than $1,000 in savings. Comparatively, 73% of the lowest income adults (those earnings $24,999 or less annually) had less than $1,000 in their savings account."
#Sad!
#Banks&FinancialSectorAreKillingAmericanDream
This is what a preview of a serious recession or maybe far worse looks like, with meager savings, net-negative wealth, massive government, corporate and private debt levels (check each of those metrics out; the corporate debt levels will shock many here who've been hearing the "record corporate profits" mantra for 6 years), and CENTRAL BANKS THAT ALREADY HAVE INTEREST RATES AT EFFECTIVELY ZERO (and have had them there for 8 years now).
As soon as corporations start engaging in large scale layoffs, whether due to cost-push inflation, precipitous drop in aggregate demand for goods & their services, or for any other of literally dozens of reasons (or a combination of them), it's lights out, 2008 redux, but with central banks unable to lower the cost of interest (their main policy tool).
zzyzzx
2016 Oct 10, 3:54pm
Take away credit cards, alone, and there would be a Great Depression II within a month to month and a half.
I don't know. I mean what % of outstanding debt is credit card debt? I don't know, but I would guess that it's peanuts compared to mortgage / auto / student debt, etc.
Breaking the survey data down a bit further, we find that 34% of Americans don't have a dime in their savings account, while another 35% have less than $1,000. Of the remaining survey-takers, 11% have between $1,000 and $4,999, 4% have between $5,000 and $9,999, and 15% have more than $10,000."
That was my first thought when I saw that too - "savings account". I guess I learned a good lesson here about how successful of an attention grabbing article you can write if you're willing to use a little word play. Crooks.
whitefaceddogey
2016 Oct 11, 8:52am
This makes Donald Trump pretty fucking sexy.
If having a negative net worth turns you on then check to see who is grabbing your pussy.
junkmail
2016 Oct 11, 11:01am
Just chatted to Logan on the phone. He said not to worry.
AMERICA #1
(He also said to read his new blog and follow him on Facebook and catch him on Bloomberg and don't forget the symposium of mortgage lenders and...)
That was my first thought when I saw that too - "savings account". I guess I learned a good lesson here about how successful of an attention grabbing article you can write if you're willing to use a little word play. Crooks.
Yea, it would make more sense if they asked how much they had in savings.
So are retirement accounts and pension plans considered "savings account"? I doubt very much that 70% of americans have no retirement savings. Pretty poorly defined terms. But you are right it makes great headlines. Gee, I wonder why gobankingrates would want more people to put money in savings accounts.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2016/10/09/savings-study/91083712/
Nearly 7 in 10 Americans have less than $1,000 in savings
Sean Williams
1 day ago
America's spend-first mentality is a genuine concern.
The U.S. is often referred to as the land of economic opportunity. Apparently, it's also the land of consumption and "spend everything you've got."
We don't have to look far for confirmation that Americans are generally poor savers. Every month the St. Louis Federal Reserve releases data on personal household savings rates. In July 2016, the personal savings rate was just 5.7%. Comparatively, personal savings rates in the U.S. 50 years ago were double where they are today, and nearly all developed countries have a higher personal savings rate than the United States. In other words, Americans are saving less of their income than they should be — the recommendation is to save between 10% and 15% of your annual income — and they're being forced to do more with less in terms of investing.
America's Poor Savings Habits
However, new data emerged this week from personal-finance news website GoBankingRates that shows just how dire Americans' savings habits really are.
Last year, GoBankingRates surveyed more than 5,000 Americans only to uncover that 62% of them had less than $1,000 in savings. Last month GoBankingRates again posed the question to Americans of how much they had in their savings account, only this time it asked 7,052 people. The result? Nearly seven in 10 Americans (69%) had less than $1,000 in their savings account.
Breaking the survey data down a bit further, we find that 34% of Americans don't have a dime in their savings account, while another 35% have less than $1,000. Of the remaining survey-takers, 11% have between $1,000 and $4,999, 4% have between $5,000 and $9,999, and 15% have more than $10,000.
Furthermore, even though lower-income adults struggle with saving money more than middle- and upper-income folks, no income group did particularly well. Some 29% of adults earning more than $150,000 a year, and 44% making between $100,000 and $149,999, had less than $1,000 in savings. Comparatively, 73% of the lowest income adults (those earnings $24,999 or less annually) had less than $1,000 in their savings account.
There was even minimal difference between multiple generations of Americans. From seniors aged 65 and up to young millennials aged 18 to 24, between 62% and 72% of Americans had less than $1,000 in a savings account.
The Sources Of America's Poor Saving Habits
This data is particularly worrisome since the recommendation is for Americans to have six months in expenses saved in case of an emergency, such as a large medical expense, car repair bill, or losing your job. Without this emergency fund to fall back on, millions of Americans could be risking financial disaster.
According to GoBankingRates' report, two factors are to blame for Americans' inability to save. First, some Americans are simply living beyond their means. With roughly 70% of U.S. GDP tied to consumption, and our society revolving around going out for entertainment, this isn't too surprising.
The other issue is that credit cards and alternative payment platforms, such as Apple Pay, have made it easier than ever to spend money. It's a lot easier to spend money when you're not dealing with tangible cash. This out of sight, out of mind mentality could leave Americans out of money when they need it.
#DebtSlaveEconomy