Nearly three-fourths of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck, according to a new survey released by Bankrate.com.
The survey — which polled 1,000 people — says just a quarter of Americans have enough money saved to cover six months of expenses in the case of an emergency, only half of Americans have less than three months. Twenty-seven said they had no savings.
“We measure five key components of Americans’ financial security each month, and we routinely find that savings is the weakest area,” says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate.com’s senior financial analyst. “People who are less comfortable with their savings now versus a year ago outnumber people who are more comfortable by a margin of nearly two-to-one. That’s especially jarring since people are feeling much more optimistic about other aspects of their finances.”
“It’s disappointing,” continued McBride. “Nothing helps you sleep better at night than knowing you have money tucked away for unplanned expenses.”