Blog: Only Half Of Americans Have More Emergency Savings Than Credit Card Debt
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Just over half of Americans have more emergency savings than credit card debt (52%), according to a new Bankrate.com report. The percentage stands the same as in 2011, reflecting zero progress over a time when the stock market surged and unemployment plummeted.
Among the findings:
- Alarmingly, the percentage of Americans with no credit card debt, but no savings either, jumped from 13% last year to 21% this year.
- On a positive note, only 22% of Americans have more credit card debt than emergency savings, the lowest it has been in six years.
- Interestingly, millennials are more likely than any other age group to have more emergency savings than credit card debt.
"Contrary to society's perception of millennials and their financial characteristics, millennials have learned from their parents' mistakes and are more cautious when it comes to saving for that rainy day," said Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate.com's Chief Financial Analyst. "Their aversion to credit cards may have also played a part in helping them grow their savings accounts," he added.
For more information on this report visit: bankrate.com/finance/consumer-index/financial-security-charts-0216.aspx
