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Posted on 02/04/2013 1:37:40 PM PST by blam
Nearly Half Of American Families Live On The Edge Of Financial Ruin
Mandi Woodruff
February 4, 2013, 1:19 PM
In the past few years, Americans have learned a thing or two about how quickly disaster can strike.
And with each Hurricane Sandy, housing crisis, and stock market crash that rocks our world, we're faced with the realization that many of us simply aren't prepared for the worst.
A sobering new report by the Corporation for Enterprise Development shows nearly half of U.S. households (132.1 million people) don't have enough savings to weather emergencies, or finance long-term needs like college tuition, health care and housing.
According to the Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, these people wouldn't last three months if their income was suddenly depleted. More than 30 percent don't even have a savings account, and another 8 percent don't bank at all.
We're not just talking about people who living people the poverty line, either. Plenty of the middle class have joined the ranks of the "working poor," struggling right alongside families scraping by on food stamps and other forms of public assistance.
More than one-quarter of households earning $55,465-$90,000 annually have less than three months of savings.
And another quarter of households are considered net worth asset poor, "meaning that the few assets they have, such as a savings account or durable assets like a home, business or car, are overwhelmed by their debts," the study says.
Stuck on the wheel
One of the prolonging reasons consumers have consistently struggled to make ends meet has more to do with larger economic issues than whether or not they can balance a checkbook.
Per the report, household median net worth declined by over $27,000 from its peak in 2006 to $68,948 in 2010, and at the same time
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(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Why only half?
If you don’t have overseas bank accounts, like a Limbaugh or Levin might, and the dollar pulls a Zimbabwe or 1920’s Germany, then you are wiped out completely. Your wealth, whether you had a little or a lot... POOF! Instant Equality!!
Obviously, we need a govermnent program to fix this problem.
If they did, Obama would classify them as "rich" and take it away from them anyway.
All money rightfully belongs to government.
I bet they have lot's of nice toys though.
“Keeping up with the Jones” is pretty expensive these days.
And which imbecile do we have to thank for this?
Not the moron in chief of course but the millions who went brain-dead and voted for Klownie the Kenyan.
Most people spend what they earn. I see it every day. Whether you earn $1,000 per month or $10,000.
At the end of the month... they’re broke.
On the other hand, I’ve seen families do quite well on “minimum wage”.
Its all about priorities.
/johnny
From the article: “We’re not just talking about people who living people the poverty line, either.”
What do you suppose this means? Does no one edit or proofread any longer?
Most of the people (where I know the situation) have more non-mortgage debt than savings. People tend to treat their debt like savings and savings like debt. In their world, Debt is for buying things and savings are for emergencies. It is supposed to be the other way around.
Neither of my siblings have a dime in savings. I saw the damage my parents caused by giving them money so that idea is right out.
Spend more time making money and less time spending money.
We plowed all of our money into
paying our home off and then hubby lost his job.
Oh well.
Personal finance success has never been about what you make. It’s what you keep that counts.
The list, Ping
Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list
Obama’s ruinous Marxist economic policies at work.
Or is it STILL Bush’s fault...
I saw the damage my parents caused by giving them money so that idea is right out.
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Can I have their money? We’re brothers in a way.
But resist proofread, you much… you must… and you will much… about… that… be committed.
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