When faced with an unexpected $1,000 expense, more than one-third of Americans would borrow the money, according to a new Bankrate survey. That may include tapping their credit cards, seeking money from friends or family or taking out a personal loan.
Most would not turn to cash savings because they don’t have it, the personal finance website found.
Fewer than half of Americans, 44%, say they can afford to pay a $1,000 emergency expense from their savings, according to Bankrate’s survey of more than 1,000 respondents conducted in December.
That is up from 43% in 2023, yet level when compared to 2022.
“We’re just not wired to save,” said Brad Klontz, a certified financial planner and expert in financial psychology and behavioral finance. Our brains are instead programmed to focus on our immediate needs.
Yeah something like 25% of Americans make under $35k. That’s poverty wages in this economy.
You kidding? That’s almost a congressman’s wage in my country. I want 35K a year 😭
Doesn’t change the fact that such a wage barely covers rent and food for someone with no dependents
What’s rent cost on a 2 bedroom apartment there?
500 dollars on average
Exactly. Cost of living is way higher than that in the US.
Insanity…
I mean that’s just how it works. I bet there’s cities in your country that cost more to live in than others. Salaries and availability of jobs in those more expensive cities will probably also be higher and the middle of nowhere.
Cool, I’m not in your country. I pay $10,000 a year to live in a one bedroom apartment in Nowhere, Ohio. That doesn’t include my utilities, my student loans, my car payments, or my health insurance.
Holy shit, do they have any openings there? <$900/month sounds pretty good.
You need to check what the purchasing power parity between US and your country is.
Someone making 35K USD per year in USA is doing roughly as well as someone making 15.3K USD per year in Lithuania. That’s a higher end retail wage here, or 1170 euros.
I make more than that after taxes, and that includes national health insurance and national pension fund.
The caveats are that plane travel, vehicles and electronics will be more expensive to a Lithuanian but fresh food, real estate, rent and services will be more expensive to an American.