On June 25, 2012, Blake Ellis writes on CNNMoney:
“Most Americans don’t have nearly enough money stashed away for emergencies and more than one-in-four don’t even have a single penny saved.
“While the general rule of thumb is to have an emergency fund that will cover at least six months of expenses, only 25 percent of Americans have that amount saved, research released Monday by Bankrate.com finds.
“About 49 percent of Americans don’t even have enough money saved to cover three months of expenses — slightly worse than the 46% of Americans who reported having less than three months worth of savings last year.
“And 28 percent don’t have any cushion whatsoever — up from 24 percent last year, according to the report, which was based on a survey of 1,000 adults.”
I understand that saving money is a luxury for those who have enough to be able to afford it. But the American mindset in recent decades has moved away from savings and towards frivolous consumption. I expect the hard times we are going through to change the way Americans view savings just as the Great Depression did for the Greatest Generation.
http://money.cnn.com/2012/06/25/pf/emergency-savings/index.htm
