Current Events > Americans say they need to have $500,000 in savings to feel financially secure

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https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/28/americans-need-500000-in-savings-to-feel-financially-secure-survey-says.html

More than a year into the Covid crisis, most people have a clearer picture of what it means to be financially secure. When asked how much money they need to have saved to consider themselves financially healthy, Americans put the number at $516,433, on average, according to a new report by financial services company Personal Capital. About 20% said they would need more than $1,000,000. Although responses varied widely, most said having $500,000 in the bank would be enough to cover bills and expenses, as well as future needs, including some retirement savings, without worry, the report found. For the average working American, $500,000 would be plenty of money, said certified financial planner Dave Totah, a senior wealth advisor at Exencial Wealth Advisors in Frisco, Texas. Generally, personal finance experts recommend having three months to six months or even longer of living expenses on hand in case of an emergency. For retirement, there are a few simple rules of thumb, such as saving 10 times your income by retirement age. For many, the pandemic has been a financial wake-up call thats prompted them to rethink how they plan for their futures.

Still, most people struggle to save enough for a comfortable cash cushion. Before the pandemic, a Federal Reserve report found that 40% of Americans would have difficulty paying for an unexpected $400 expense. A survey released by Bankrate.com in January indicates that those cash reserves still fall short for many people, with only 39% of people able to pay for a $1,000 emergency expense out of savings. Just 19% of Americans have enough to cover three to five months and 25% have enough to cover six months or more, Bankrate also found. Only 17% of adults said they have more emergency savings now than they did pre-pandemic. And still, more than half of Americans, or 51%, have less than three months stashed in an emergency fund.



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Well yeah, ideally I would like to have that much saved up in order to not worry about money at all.
Whether or not that's realistic is another matter.

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Lebronwon posted...

a Federal Reserve report found that 40% of Americans would have difficulty paying for an unexpected $400 expense.

US is so fucked when that eviction ban ends.

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Not surprised. Inflation is a bitch.

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We just need to make $60,000,000,000,000 and spread it equally among the US households

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"God i'd feel so secure if i had a million dollars saved up, its the only way i can feel safe"

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I would be happy with $10,000 tbh


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Idk how reliable this is. It's asking people that are financially crippled by a surprise $400 how much they'd need. Like they might as well say a million billion at that point. They have no grasp of an accurate amount because it's intangible to them.

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Jiek_Fafn posted...

Idk how reliable this is. It's asking people that are financially crippled by a surprise $400 how much they'd need. Like they might as well say a million billion at that point. They have no grasp of an accurate amount because it's intangible to them.

Yeah, 500k is both way too high if we're talking like a 6 month emergency fund, and way too low if we're including retirement.

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Jiek_Fafn posted...

Idk how reliable this is. It's asking people that are financially crippled by a surprise $400 how much they'd need. Like they might as well say a million billion at that point. They have no grasp of an accurate amount because it's intangible to them.

I'm pretty sure they'd be happy with any number in the six to seven digits. Its like asking people "Would you like a million dollars?" Like no shit they'd take a million dollars

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Unsugarized_Foo posted...

We just need to make $60,000,000,000,000 and spread it equally among the US households

Take 40% of Bezos', Kottick's, and every other useless scumbag CEO's paycheck and this theoretically could be possible.

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If you took all the billionaires in the US and took their money, itd be about 7-8% of that $60 trill

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littlebro07 posted...

I would be happy with $10,000 tbh

Same.

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This is why I just took a job with an 8% 401k match up to the maximum I can add in. Gonna max that bitch in 6 months.

DundiesAward posted...

US is so fucked when that eviction ban ends.

@DundiesAward That is their own fault, they got all this free money from the government, and chose not to pay their rent, zero sympathy

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AlBundy33 posted...

@DundiesAward That is their own fault, they got all this free money from the government, and chose not to pay their rent, zero sympathy

Well that's really on them for spending that cash on materialistic shit they don't need

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That's not realistic for a comfortable retirement. Unfortunately, it'd need to be quite a bit more than that. At least with the way things are going and have been, current younger gens will be in the poorhouse big time for about the last 2-3 decades of their lives, by and large of course.

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In regards to emergency funds I'm not sure why credit isnt recommended more in this regard. Anyone can maintain a good credit score regardless of their income, and obtain balances of a few hundred or thousands even overtime.

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There you have it. The government just needs to give everyone 500k to solve all the problems.

It would only cost *plugs in 500k x 330 million*

*calculator explodes*

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