3 On Your Side: Despite Lackluster Savings, People Feel More Secure
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- How much money do you have in emergency savings? A new report finds that in many cases American families are often living very close to the financial edge. 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan looks at the numbers.
One in four Americans have credit card debt which equals or exceeds what they have in emergency savings. That's according to a new Bankrate.com report that finds that people between the ages of 30 and 49 are often in the worst shape, possibly because of the expenses associated with raising children and paying a mortgage.
Greg McBride of Bankrate.com says, "This is testament to how under-saved many Americans are for emergencies. They either don't have any emergency savings or what they have just isn't enough, and if they have credit card debt on top of that, well they've used valuable available credit that they won't have accessible in the event of unplanned expenses."
Even so, overall, Americans are feeling a bit more secure about their finances since the Great Recession . When it comes to employment Bankrate.com finds that 24 percent of Americans feel more secure in their jobs than they did a year ago. Only 12 percent feel less secure.
McBride says, "We've had the highest readings yet with people saying they're more secure with their jobs, they're more comfortable with their debt, they're reporting higher net worth and they feel their overall financial situations are better now than they've been in recent years."
Most financial experts agree that you should have a minimum of six months of living expenses in an emergency account. My advice, something is better than nothing. Even if you put away five or ten bucks a week, over time, it will add up and a create a nice cushion that hopefully you'll never need to touch.
For more information visit:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/consumer-index/financial-security-charts-0215.aspx