63% Of Americans Don't Have Enough Savings To Cover A $500 Emergency

Maggie McGrath , FORBES STAFF

According to a brand new survey from Bankrate.com, just 37% of Americans have enough savings to pay for a $500 or $1,000 emergency. The other 63% would have to resort to measures like cutting back spending in other areas (23%), charging to a credit card (15%) or borrowing funds from friends and family (15%) in order to meet the cost of the unexpected event.

These are just three of any number of things that could go wrong during the course of the year. Recovering from any one will set you back about $500, which means these scenarios fall closer to the "undesirable inconvenience" category than they do the "massive calamity" one. And yet, nearly two-thirds of Americans do not have enough money in savings to cover the cost of a single one of these unplanned expenses.

"Five-hundred dollars is enough money that it could be catastrophic if you’re really living on the edge and don’t have enough money" to cover that unplanned cost, Bankrate senior investing analyst Sheyna Steiner said in a phone interview. "I did wonder what would happen if it was $10,000, what would the answer have been then?"

#financialsavings #emergencyfund #spending #familycosts

Direct Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2016/01/06/63-of-americans-dont-have-enough-savings-to-cover-a-500-emergency/#1064d5584e0d