When faced with an unexpected $1,000 expense, more than one-third of Americans would borrow the money, according to a new Bankrate survey. That may include tapping their credit cards, seeking money from friends or family or taking out a personal loan.
Most would not turn to cash savings because they don’t have it, the personal finance website found.
Fewer than half of Americans, 44%, say they can afford to pay a $1,000 emergency expense from their savings, according to Bankrate’s survey of more than 1,000 respondents conducted in December.
That is up from 43% in 2023, yet level when compared to 2022.
“We’re just not wired to save,” said Brad Klontz, a certified financial planner and expert in financial psychology and behavioral finance. Our brains are instead programmed to focus on our immediate needs.
I’m just going assume they wanted to say “not wired enough money to save” but forgot the middle part
Can you expand?
Do I try to save money or
Do I pay my bills, rent, and buy food? The money I “save” is so I can top up my gas tank on the week I don’t get paid.
Also, you can’t just “save” money in the sense of a savings account. Inflation is too insane, any money in a savings account is worth less then what it was last year, and savings accounts % returns have gone down to 1-2%.
If you want to “save” money in today’s time, you need to invest the money, and that takes more time and effort. Holding onto money is simply detrimental in today’s times.