Posted on 06/24/2013 10:11:12 AM PDT by rightwingintelligentsia
Roughly three-quarters of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck, with little to no emergency savings, according to a survey released by Bankrate.com Monday.
Fewer than one in four Americans have enough money in their savings account to cover at least six months of expenses, enough to help cushion the blow of a job loss, medical emergency or some other unexpected event, according to the survey of 1,000 adults. Meanwhile, 50% of those surveyed have less than a three-month cushion and 27% had no savings at all.
--snip--
Last week, online lender CashNetUSA said 22% of the 1,000 people it recently surveyed had less than $100 in savings to cover an emergency, while 46% had less than $800. After paying debts and taking care of housing, car and child care-related expenses, the respondents said there just isn't enough money left over for saving more.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
I agree with that. It’s no use pretending that we can outrun this thing (out of control government). It’s going to get us, so we might as well turn and face the beast.
I ran 10's of thousands of iterations. Never hit for more than the 'small' ($2, $10, etc) prizes. Not really surprising, but it was interesting to see just how ridiculously unlikely hitting the lotto is.
The site tracked winnings. As an aside, if you choose to play, odds on the Megamillions are marginally better, and pick the 'double play' (or whatever it's called) where the cost of a ticket doubles, but the payout doubles as well. Over a long, long term (1000's of plays) payout on double plays is about 20c on the dollar.
Great racket. Guaranteed to lose 80c on the buck, but people still throw millions at it each week. Truly, there is one born every minute.
Hang in there. I thank the Lord every day because I know we are blessed. All our friends and family have seen some really tough times and I have helped them if I could and/or knew that the help would actually help them. I have seen many people who are in bad shape because of their own actions, doesn’t sound like you.
Bless you and your family.
Add several more million addresses to which the IRS sent fraudulent Earned Income “Tax Credit” payments and you’re talking real money (tens of billions).
I see friends/relatives getting new trucks/cars every 2-3 years or so, ATV’s or other toys, new houses every 10 years or so, going on vacations to Florida/Hawaii/skiing, I just refuse to spend the money or borrow to do it. Our only splurge is martial arts for one child and one competitive sport for the other.
Wait unil ObamaCare and the immigration fiasco kicks in.....
If less than 25% have money left over after paying the bills, at least obama knows who to go after to pay more taxes
but he’s gonna run out of “rich people” (anyone with savings) soon
Economic freedom is freedom.
I don't know that the Democrats have done this on purpose, because they're too inept, but they have certainly capitalized on it, and make no effort, and even discourage efforts of people who want to be self-reliant and fiscally responsible.
That's why the Tea Parties are such a threat. If the majority of people understood economics, and knew the damage caused by deficit and wasteful spending, a whole lot of politicians would lose their jobs, and their gravy trains would be gone.
When did CNN figure this out?
Ah, yes, the Obama economy at work.
I first observed this phenomenon in the 1980s in the DC suburbs. Some high-flying consultants and lawyers I knew bought 4000 sft houses on two acre lots across the Potomac in Virginia. Half of the bedrooms were unfurnished or had a stationary bike propped up against one wall. The living rooms had the same ratty sofas and end tables these folks owned when they were living in tract houses in Prince George Co., Maryland.
What’s a paycheck?
/welcome to communism, comrade.
Real inflation is closer to 9%.
I’ve been to estate sales in high-priced developments, and estate sales in older homes in shabby neighborhoods.
The better stuff is usually found in the latter.
From the book "The Millionaire Next Door" by Stanley and Danko, two thirds of millionaires make less than 100k. Around 70-80k. (the book was written in 1996, so they probably make more now.) They don't live ostentatious lives although they do live well. But you would not necessarily easily pick them out from the crowd. They tend to save and invest well and own their own businesses.
Well, I’m disagreeing with you as well. When the collapse hits, millions dependent of Government will end up dying, perhaps tens of millions. I expect places like Detroit, East LA, and Chicago to resemble something out of the Road Warrior.
It’s going to suck, and suck bad. It will make the 1930s look like a walk in the park. God help us all. . .
I totally agree with that. The majority of millionaires I have known earned it through running or selling their own businesses, however, I also know a number of wealthy people that invested their way to the top. Fewer today than before I think.
I've been telling my wife for decades that the lotto is a loser's game. But she continues to play, saying it just needs to strike once. Yeah, right. I know the odds, and stay away from the game. The money she spent over the years could have bought some nice stuff.
On the other hand, she tosses her spare change into jars and cans, and perhaps has thousands of dollars worth of coins. So she throws away some money but saves other money. That offsets her lotto losses!
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.