1 in 5 Americans have more credit-card debt than savings Published: Feb 22, 2018 12:31 p.m. ET Consumers are putting saving on the back burner Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection It’s so easy to spend, consumers have to make saving automatic By MARIALAMAGNA REPORTER Some Americans’ finances are on very thin ice. One in five Americans say they have more credit-card debt than they do in emergency savings, according to a report published Thursday from the personal-finance company Bankrate. Another 12% said they had no credit card debt, but they also had no savings. Bankrate surveyed 1,000 people during early February. But the report isn’t all bad news. More than half (58%) said they had more in emergency savings funds than in credit-card debt, the highest percentage Bankrate has ever had, tied with the amount who said this in 2015. Financial experts typically recommend that all consumers have three to six months’ worth of expenses saved in an easy-to-access emergency fund, to guard against any unexpected expenses. Bankrate did not ask exactly how much those surveyed had saved. “We’re seeing progress,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate. “Unemployment is coming down, people are making more money, and they’re finally making progress on right-sizing the equation between credit-card debt and emergency savings.” 4 things rich people do with their money that you should be doing too Millennials were actually standouts for their good savings behavior, McBride said. Some 61% of millennials said they had more emergency savings than credit-card debt. Just 54% of the members of Generation X said they had more, compared to 56% of baby boomers and 67% of members of the Silent Generation. Millennials may be doing a good job saving because they had “a front row seat for the financial crisis,” he said. It can be tempting to pay down debt rather than save, but consumers really have to do both, McBride said. “That lack of savings can lead to even more debt.” Consumers trying to build an emergency fund should set up an automatic savings plan, he said. That will put a certain percentage of their paycheck into a savings account. After determining the amount they can put in that fund for each paycheck, they can then pay debt with whatever funds they can spare in their budget. “Saving is all about establishing a habit,” he said.
They have also saved the least amount of money on average, most have saved nothing, the few who have saved actually do have quite a bit saved. It's only a matter of time before the government raids your 401k, "for your own good", or to "protect you", or for "the childern", or what ever bs line the focus groups respond best to.
NOPE , All they did was make not having cash in my back pocket . Now I have 3 cards , and carry cash . I buy Booze , bang -bang & projectiles,toys and girls ( dreaming of lies) with the cash , no records ..Food & all other stuff on CC but have the funds to collect Air miles to Cash back .. They are & will say to you one day , we have records of YOU !! Sloth
@oldman11 I am sneaking up on that age, here, but still able to get by, out here, and keep up with the chores... What really is nice, is I can watch all the BS, on CNN, and NBC, and the hit the Off Button, and walk outside for 10 minutes, and you know, it all just fades away... Down in the FlatLands, “When Seconds Count, Help is minutes Away”... Up here, Even if Help left, the instant you called, they are still Two Hours away.... We are our own First, Second, and Third Responders... We had a Murder up the Inlet from here, 5 miles, 18 months ago It took 20 minutes to get the call out, and the State Troopers took another three hours to arrive... There was No need for medical as the dead guy was missing a large chuck of his head, being hit with a 41 Magnum Projectile... Yes Alcokol was involved... The previous shooting happened 35 years earlier.... and the State Trooper was delivered by USCG CHOPPER and that took 6 Hours... and the victim lived...
Or their parents saved for but never lived to retirement. I moved out when I was 19 and never went back. My sister, 4 years younger was the boomerang child. Didn't move out till 22, came back at least 3 times between ages 22 and 29.
It may be sick, but it is true... The Weapon, a 22LR Revolver, was recovered 15 minutes after the State Trooper touched down, and the Perp was in Handcuffs 2 hours later... It was a Philippine Union Hitman, and he was Kicked out of the State, because the States Attorney screwed up the Paperwork, and missed a Filing Deadline, so they just sent him back to Washington State. NOW the rest of the story... This Kid, then a few years later, Shot and Killed the Philippino Union Boss, in Seattle, along with one of his buddies, who was also here at the cannery, and Washington prosecuted both for First Degree Murder, and they are BOTH sitting over in Death Row in Walla Walla State Prison, still after 30+ Years... The victim, here, was a Japanese Egg Technician, and there has always been Bad Blood, between those two Races, ever since WWII... and the shooting happened at a PreSeason Dance held in the Rec Hall... Apparently the Victim asked a Philippine Lady to Dance, and that set off the Perp...
I funnel all my bills and non cash purchases through them and then pay them completely off each month. It provides a layer of safety between my bank and the purchases/bills. The best part is that none of them have an annual fee and all of them pay me rewards for using the card, so they pay me to use their cards and not the other way around. Because I cycle a lot of money through them and keep a low balance they keep raising my limits and it keeps making my credit better.
@3M-TA3 Yep, it is ideal to use the Banksters money, instead of your own, for doing you usual Family business... We have benn doing it for Decades, and not paying a Dime of Interest in the last two Decades, plus getting Miles foe each dollar thransacted... Right now the Miles balance in in the 6 Figures... . The whole trick to living this way, is to LIVE WITHIN YOUR INCOME... and many folks just can’t seem to do that... They just have to have the latest Goodie, or Phone.. and build up more debt than they can pay for.? I takes disipline, and self-restaint, which are NOT really taught regularly these days...
I was on Akutan Island when a Filipino seafood worker murdered the mayor’s brother. My friend witnessed it in the Roadhouse Bar. I walked by the bar in the morning heading to work and he was still lying in there. OMG! They just locked the place up and were waiting for Troopers. Crazy. Year was 1990 I believe.
Tough for youngsters when you look at the cost of housing and everything else. I do think it is damaging in that these kids don't grow up. I work with a few like this.They party and have a good time, their parents are enablers. I moved out at age 17. Ready to see the world. I don't think kids are the same nowadays.
5 Decades ago, my parents let me move back in with them, ONE Time... It took just 3 months go get myself back under control, after a disasterious Love relationship, ENDED... Then back to Finish College, and then Two Years in the Wilderness.... Then Marriage, and the rest of my life.... I learned a lot from each of those experiences... My Perents were supportive, but not openended, in that support... Just what a 20 year old needed...
I left home at 18. Three years later I was a 21 year old owner operator of a semi truck. It hurt my pride when I had to ask my parents for a loan to help repair the engine. I had 1250 of the 1500 necessary. I had them paid back in a month.
