Study: Most People Don't Have Enough Saved Up for Emergencies - East Idaho News
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Study: Most People Don’t Have Enough Saved Up for Emergencies

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Getty B 010612 MoneyCash?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1371812126766Nick M Do/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Most Americans don’t have enough money saved up to cover them for up to six months’ worth of expenses, a new study from Bankrate finds.

“Savings continues to be the weak spot.  Only one in four Americans actually has an adequate emergency savings cushion,” says Greg McBride with Bankrate.

Even worse, half of those surveyed had less than three months’ worth of expenses saved up.

“And, at the other end of the spectrum, 27 percent have none at all,” McBride says.

The reason?

“People are hemmed-in by stagnant incomes and the steady up-creep in other household expenses.  That just leaves them with very little money that they could squirrel away and improve their overall savings cushion,” McBride explains.

He says an adequate cushion for most people is about six months’ worth of expenses.

“But, that’s a destination, not a starting point,” he notes.  “The important thing is set money aside regularly with every paycheck…not just for emergencies, but also for retirement.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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