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62% of Americans Have Under $1,000 in Savings, Survey Finds

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Re: 62% of Americans Have Under $1,000 in Savings, Survey Finds

#111

Post by nemo44x »

oberstein wrote: post #47
david927 wrote: post #19

A lot of people here think this is about you parse "savings". It's not: 47% of Americans say they lack the cash to pay a surprise $400 bill http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/jun/09/...

That is a much better line of questioning since it avoids the arguments about what is meant by savings. Also clicking through I found it avoids the followup argument of "what about credit cards"? To quote the whole thing: "47: The percentage of Americans who can’t pay for an unexpected $400 expense through savings or credit cards, without selling something or borrowing money, according to the Federal Reserve." But th…

Because they could use their paycheck and hit a payday loan store and begin to fall behind on other things.

If you're living paycheck to paycheck a bit of time will let you figure it out but you don't have the cash today to pay a small bill.

You shouldn't assume most people have much in the name of savings, much less capital.

Re: 62% of Americans Have Under $1,000 in Savings, Survey Finds

#112

Post by russell_h »

cko wrote: post #17
patio11 wrote: post #5

There's a conversation to be had about many Americans living in precarious financial situations, but the reason why most Americans don't currently view their savings accounts as priorities is because in the current interest rate environment savings accounts and CDs are products with vanishingly little to recommend them. The APY my bank offers is one basis point . That's $1 per year for every $10k held in the account.…

There's something to be said for having cash available - here and there, opportunities pop up for me that I can take advantage of. For example, recently I lent money at very high interest, short-term. If I suddenly get interested in prototyping electronics I won't even hesitate to buy an Arduino, sensors, and a few books. Little bits of cash is useful to "try things out." Plus there's the "better sleep at night" fact…

Sure, but there aren't many reasons not to keep that cash in a checking account. For a while I just kept all of my cash in a checking account because it actually paid a higher interest rate than my savings account from the same bank.

Re: 62% of Americans Have Under $1,000 in Savings, Survey Finds

#113

Post by bmm6o »

patio11 wrote: post #5

There's a conversation to be had about many Americans living in precarious financial situations, but the reason why most Americans don't currently view their savings accounts as priorities is because in the current interest rate environment savings accounts and CDs are products with vanishingly little to recommend them. The APY my bank offers is one basis point . That's $1 per year for every $10k held in the account.…

Absolutely. At one point I had $10,000 in an ING Direct account. I wasn't getting rich off the interest, but the money was safe and accessible if I needed it, and seeing a few hundred bucks in growth in a year was satisfying. The APY rate went down literally every month, and now that account is closed. That money isn't gone but it's certainly not in a savings account.

Re: 62% of Americans Have Under $1,000 in Savings, Survey Finds

#114

Post by mod »

howdoipython wrote: post #109
mod wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I share that view--where we differ is you're saying "socialism is these things, and capitalism isn't," and I disagree.

Does it really matter what it's called?

No, it matters how it's accomplished. Socialism and capitalism differ in that regard.

Re: 62% of Americans Have Under $1,000 in Savings, Survey Finds

#116

Post by nemo44x »

eimai134 wrote: post #13

I'll bet a lot of people have money elsewhere. However, I have a lot of friends who are poor (by that I mean that they qualify for food stamps), and it's amazing to see the way they spend money. When I was poor I bought the very cheapest shampoo ($1) and bought generic everything. The poor people I know now buy name-brand products and buy a ton of Christmas and birthday presents. My husband and I have savings but we…

Think about it. If you've got nothing and few prospects to ever have anything then why even care?

You might as well get some bit of happiness from something since everything else is awful. People want to feel good.

Were you poor or just broke while you were young? Poverty is far different from being in college and not making much. Poverty is much different than being short on cash. Poverty includes having limited options ahead of you and the prospect of always being poor.

Re: 62% of Americans Have Under $1,000 in Savings, Survey Finds

#117

Post by odonnellryan »

Spooky23 wrote: post #26
patio11 wrote: post #5

There's a conversation to be had about many Americans living in precarious financial situations, but the reason why most Americans don't currently view their savings accounts as priorities is because in the current interest rate environment savings accounts and CDs are products with vanishingly little to recommend them. The APY my bank offers is one basis point . That's $1 per year for every $10k held in the account.…

If you need liquid savings, cash is king. I opened a savings account with my son a few weeks ago. In my day, those accounts paid 3-7%. There was a story of compounding interest to tell. Now, I feel like I'm teaching my kid to be a sucker.

I remember earning quite a few dollars with < 1K in a savings account when I was a kid. Was awesome to watch it grow. Now I just keep my cash in a checking account. When Chase or TD sends me a "deposit 10k get $500" I consider it.

Re: 62% of Americans Have Under $1,000 in Savings, Survey Finds

#118

Post by sliverstorm »

hugh4 wrote: post #37
Spooky23 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you need liquid savings, cash is king. I opened a savings account with my son a few weeks ago. In my day, those accounts paid 3-7%. There was a story of compounding interest to tell. Now, I feel like I'm teaching my kid to be a sucker.

I think if I ever have a kid I'll let him open a "bank of Dad" account which pays a decent interest rate just to get him into the habit of investing.

Although there's something special about the responsibility of having your very own account, very own card, very own PIN...

Re: 62% of Americans Have Under $1,000 in Savings, Survey Finds

#119

Post by caseysoftware »

patio11 wrote: post #5

There's a conversation to be had about many Americans living in precarious financial situations, but the reason why most Americans don't currently view their savings accounts as priorities is because in the current interest rate environment savings accounts and CDs are products with vanishingly little to recommend them. The APY my bank offers is one basis point . That's $1 per year for every $10k held in the account.…

> the reason why most Americans don't currently view their savings accounts as priorities is because in the current interest rate environment savings accounts and CDs are products with vanishingly little to recommend them.

According to the US Fed[1] and Bureau of Economic Analysis[2], there is a strong correlation that implies. exactly that.

1 - https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/PSAVERT

2 - http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/personal-savin...

Re: 62% of Americans Have Under $1,000 in Savings, Survey Finds

#120

Post by sliverstorm »

Spooky23 wrote: post #26
patio11 wrote: post #5

There's a conversation to be had about many Americans living in precarious financial situations, but the reason why most Americans don't currently view their savings accounts as priorities is because in the current interest rate environment savings accounts and CDs are products with vanishingly little to recommend them. The APY my bank offers is one basis point . That's $1 per year for every $10k held in the account.…

If you need liquid savings, cash is king. I opened a savings account with my son a few weeks ago. In my day, those accounts paid 3-7%. There was a story of compounding interest to tell. Now, I feel like I'm teaching my kid to be a sucker.

Cash is good, but I get a better interest rate in my checking account.
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