I’m not sure why, but I really love it when I discover new studies on savings and debt.
(Pretty sick, I know.)
Somehow I missed this one — entitled “Who Is Saving?” — which showed up on the Consumer Federation of America’s website back in February:
CFA: Who Is Saving? (pdf)
Using data from the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances, Catherine Montalto gives us a glimpse into who’s saving, and how much they’re putting aside for emergencies.
I find it interesting (okay, more like terrifying, though certainly NOT shocking) that for families in my income range ($59,600-$98,199), only 32 percent actually save for emergencies. And of the ones who DO have savings or money-market accounts, the median value is only $5,000.
It’s even worse for families in my age group: Of those who have savings accounts, the median balance is just $3,900.
Yeesh. I gotta tell ya: Reading this makes me feel pretty good about my $15k of liquid savings that we recently completed.
Be sure to check out the PDF above, and see where you stack up!
Ian wrote:
I guess being above average gives me some joy, compared to how poor I feel reading Money Magazine sometimes. But on the other hand it’s sad how unprepared most people are.
Michael wrote:
I know what you mean, Ian. Bailed on my Money Magazine subscription last year partially because of what you mention.
“Hi, we’re the Joneses. We’re 29 years old, dual-income, no kids, make roughly $200k per year. We want to know what we should do to get our investment portfolio up and over the $2 million mark before August gets here. Can you help?”
Donna Freedman wrote:
I’m starting to feel better about not reading Money magazine…
The folks who AREN’T saving: I presume they use their credit cards as emergency funds?
stiven wrote:
Ya i am happy abut the average. Keep it up for your liquid saving :).