Experts are always telling people they should have some money in the bank for emergencies, but it appears as though no matter how many times folks hear they warnings there are still plenty of people who aren't listening.
According to a new GoBankingRates survey, 58% of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings account, with 32% having absolutely no savings at all. Unfortunately, this is actually a decline over last year, when 57% of people said they had less than $1,000 in their savings.
It’s probably not much of a surprise but the older you are, the more likely you’ll have money in your savings account, although Millennials aren’t doing a completely terrible job. In fact, young Millennials have the smallest percentage of folks without savings, 26%, other than those over 65. Those in Gen X actually are the worst when it comes to savings with 37% of those 35 to 44 and 62% of those 45 to 54 having no savings at all.
As for what is preventing most folks from putting money away, the top responses include:
I’m living paycheck-to-paycheck (31%)I have a low salary (23%)I have a high cost of living (18%)I have too much debt (14%)I don’t have a savings account (7%)I forget to put money into savings (7%)ONE MORE THING! For those with savings, the main thing they are saving that money for is retirement (29%), followed by a home (27%) and a vacation (20%).