Most Americans have the savings of an elementary school child.
The headline says it all. Google did a consumer survey
on personal finance.
The overall results from the survey show that 62 percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts, and a third of those under-savers have no savings account at all. The portion of savers with balances over $1,000 is 29.1 percent.
The most frequently selected amount that people say they have in savings is also the lowest $0; 28 percent of people selected this answer. Even worse, the next-most-common answer is “I don’t have a savings account,” selected by one in five people (20.7 percent).
The good news? A total of 51.3% at least said they had a savings account. Yeehaw! Credit card debt, student loans and stagnant wages have lead to this number and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Most people are poorer than they were eight years ago:
But while the jobs market is improving and the Affordable Care Act has given an estimated 15 million people access to medical care, the Great Recession does appear to have taken its toll on Americans’ finances; in fact, they’re 40% poorer today than they were in 2007. The net worth of American families — that is, the difference between the values of their assets, including homes and investments, and liabilities — fell to $81,400 in 2013, down slightly from $82,300 in 2010, but a long way off the $135,700 in 2007, according to a report released last month by the nonprofit think tank Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C.
UPDATE: pajoy, in the comments points out that the $81,400 number in the above quote is
average, which means very little when the distribution of wealth is so skewed. The reality is that with rents rising and cost of living continuing upwards the
median middle-class household income is around $51k.
The one percent is destroying our future so they can have a bigger boat.