Posted on 10/19/2012 12:31:42 PM PDT by rightwingintelligentsia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A survey of about 1,100 Americans finds that more than 4-in-10 respondents admit they don’t have more than $500 in readily accessible savings.
The survey is a kind of departure for CreditDonkey.com, a website that compares credit card deals. Not respondents all were poor. Some had big houses, big mortgages or 401(k)s, but still no more than five Benjamins to rub together right now.
Jill Michal, president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, reacts to the lack of liquid assets.
“It doesn’t shock me, but it does scare me. You know, we often say that the reason so many people fall off the edge in a tough economy is that they’re standing way too close to it, and I think this is a perfect demonstration of that.”
Michal says there’s a lack of training in personal finances.
(Excerpt) Read more at philadelphia.cbslocal.com ...
PING!
A few year ago I got tired of being “poor”. I quit spending money frivolously. My wife died 11 years ago and our daughter moved out and married. My income is 35K a year and I am now debt free with 16K in a savings account.
My brother and I are not rich, just regular guys, but we both carry that much around just in case. We’re not big on credit cards though we do have them for those times where cash won’t do. It’s an age thing I think since I’m 61 and he’s heading toward 60. When we started working as kids, 14 to be exact, we got paid in cash. Strange I know but true. BTW we are also licensed to carry other things so we don’t much worry about the mugging thing.
For savings, I recommend you choose a metal: Gold or Lead, or both if you have extra funds.
Good job! I try to impress on my kids that if you don’t have the cash don’t buy it. Doesn’t always work though. :-} Buying a home would be an exception to that rule.
If at all possible, do store up some mattress money right now. January has half a dozen major economic traumas that the Democrats are more than willing to cause by inaction, as lame ducks, if they badly lose the election.
There could be bank holidays, and who knows what all else.
Fortunately the pressure will slowly ease after January 20th and the inauguration.
I think the problem in a lot of cases is that not only do they have no savings, they have maxed out their credit card(s) on frivolous stuff.
I was there, long ago. I made a choice to live differently. I paid off all my debts, and only use a credit card for the convenience. I pay it off every month, and don’t use it for anything I can’t pay off that month.
I also got off the car payment treadmill. I bought only the car I could afford, with cash, but saved what would have been a car payment so I could pay cash again the next time.
I refinanced my mortgage to a 15 year term, and a couple of years ago the balance was so low that I wasn’t even even itemizing deductions on my tax return. So, I paid it off, and we are truly debt free.
I had to make a lot of sacrifices to get here, at least compared to my peers. No flashy car every few years, no expensive vacations. But, we don’t worry whether I will have a job tomorrow.
“I’m rather skeptical myself. But maybe if they only polled Obama voters, it might be accurate.”
Be skeptical all you want. I worked in local government, and there are people living in four-five bedroom houses who are in debt up their eyeballs, and they have great difficulty paying property taxes. And a good number of these folks consider themselves conservatives.
Gee, sergeantdave, how did that happen?
Well, these conservatives never got off their fat asses to agitate against property tax increases, or oppose who got a chair on the local tax board, the county zoning commission or the town building board.
Same here. All our vehicles are used. Drive them till they drop.
And that is the way demo-rats like it....they want people dependent on government instead of saving and becoming independent.
The cycle continues...
JoMa
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.