Posted on 04/23/2020 4:24:55 PM PDT by Enlightened1
The COVID-19 outbreak has spurred not just a health crisis, but also an economic one. With millions of Americans now out of work and countless small businesses shut down, a large number of U.S. adults are already scrambling to pay their bills.
While emergency savings can be a lifeline in situations like the one we're facing, 50% of Americans expect that their savings will run out by the end of April, according to a new survey by real estate service Clever. And given that the crisis is showing no signs of letting up in the near future, that's extremely troubling.
Unemployment claims have been reaching record highs as Americans scramble to put money in their pockets in the absence of a paycheck. But those benefits, even with the newly approved $600-a-week boost that came about in late March, may not suffice in helping those who are out of work pay their bills.
That's where emergency savings come in. Ideally, we're all supposed to have three to six months' worth of living expenses in the bank to prepare for situations like these. Yet 27% of those surveyed by Clever said they never had emergency savings to begin with, while 11% said they've already spent theirs. In fact, only 23% of respondents have enough money in the bank to cover six months of living expenses or more.
If you're out of work and don't have emergency savings, it's obviously too late to go back in time and build some. But what you should do is make establishing an emergency fund your first priority once things get back to normal. That way, if another crisis arises and you're unable to work for a period of time...
(Excerpt) Read more at fool.com ...
So how is everybody doing here? I expect Freepers to be a little smarter than the average bear.
Still think you can spin this till June, Dr. Tony?
I am doing OK. I have always been conservative on my savings and I will immediately go to Defcon 1 when needed. That means cutting back to the bone if necessary.
Still employed. Working from home.
I’ll be fine because I can work from home, Praise God. But many, many people can not.
And those people worked their asses off to save that
money.
I’m a saver to a fault, should loosen up and take on some debt, but sleep well at night.
fearpers don’t care.....they’re apparently set in life with govt pensions....who the hell cares if people are forced to loose their homes, their cars, their health insurance....
The good thing about being retired is that our pension income is not affected. My wife also has an independent contractor gig and her income from that has been cut in half, but we’re still keeping our heads above water. The downside is we’re part of that vulnerable population. So all of our grocery shopping has been done via curbside pickup for the last month.
One could say that for corporate America, too. The ones getting the lion's share of the bailout program.
I have felt Trump will be fine during the next election, people will understand this was beyond his control. Now, knowing two mid 40’s families with both laid off, I am not so sure, adn there doesn’t seem to be any urgency on the part of the administration. Government handouts, and interference are going to look very appealing if we don’t get this economy moving. But then Republicans spend as much as Democrats so...
The ones who live under the thumb of a Democrat governor are going to be screwed.
A combination of 30+ years of wage suppression combined with with financial ignorance plus broken families has created this situation. Hopefully after this crisis has passed some people will be willing to listen and learn.
Fu money never been this worried in my life rosy scenario 10 year depression non rosy venesuela do not see any other pissibility
I’m okay but very concerned of the ripple effect. The massive job losses in the economy will cause pretty much all companies to downsize.
Can you imagine what the Unemployment line is going to look like? Then I hear Senator McConnell saying if this goes on another 2 to 3 weeks. States will be filing bankruptcy.
Say bye bye to the pensions in States like California, Illinois and New York
‘And those people worked their asses off to save that
money.’
another month; that’s all its going to take for a large swath of Americans to be facing personal bankruptcy...and who knows what will ensue after that...
so let’s get these people back to their jobs that provide them with their livelihoods and self worth and purpose; and not crab about those jobs being hairdressers, gym employees or tattooists...
- Alfred Henry Louis 1906
Maybe?
Although if States start filling bankruptcy 30 days from now. That could trigger a domino affect that could endanger your pension.
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