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Post by ccookwood on Aug 30, 2016 12:36:48 GMT
Not you necessarily but what do you think the average amount of money people have in a savings account? I'm thinking people age 45 or older who are looking at retirement, sooner than later. And I mean actual savings you can get your hands on right now, not investments, mutual funds or 501K just plain ole cash.
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Post by coaliesquirrel on Aug 30, 2016 12:42:27 GMT
We have about 3/4 my annual salary in cash savings because of numerous rounds of layoffs at my employer. We also have 401Ks, etc. for retirement; the cash savings is intended as gap $$, not retirement. We're both 44.
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Deleted
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Jun 2, 2024 4:06:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2016 12:42:39 GMT
Not me, but I think most have less than a few thousand $s actually reachable outside of say a 401k or home equity or other investments. I tend to be of a different perspective and was taught to save at a very very early age.
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Post by twistedscissors on Aug 30, 2016 12:51:09 GMT
A lot less since I bought a new car last week.
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Deleted
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Jun 2, 2024 4:06:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2016 12:51:43 GMT
39 yrs old. $200
When you have 2 medically fragile, special needs kids and have so far paid off close to $91,000 in medical bills/debt, are a single income family...there is no saving.
Everything we possibly could give went to medical. We would have maybe $200 extra a month.
But now that we have about $2500 left to pay, things have calmed down, we have the kids stable, dh got a good raise and does extra duties (he is a teacher) we can comfortably begin to put away at least $500 a month.
This month we had to keep $1000 from his paycheck to cover oral maxiofacial surgery for our dd. That was after the $878 insurance paid.
We were paying at times $500 a month in doctor visit copays for our son.
There really are reasons why people cant save. Not like we didnt want to but we didnt want that debt hanging over.our heads very long.
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Post by anxiousmom on Aug 30, 2016 12:53:18 GMT
$2.63  |
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Post by runner5 on Aug 30, 2016 12:56:34 GMT
About 67% less than what we think we need.
calimom {{hugs}}
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Post by miominmio on Aug 30, 2016 12:57:57 GMT
Approx $110.000 in savings accounts, not counting retirement funds.
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Anita
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,647 
Location: Kansas City -ish
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Post by Anita on Aug 30, 2016 12:58:43 GMT
Nowhere near enough. DH can't save money to save his life.  |
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Post by secondlife on Aug 30, 2016 12:58:46 GMT
I've read that the average American has less than $10k in savings across all vehicles but I don't know whether I believe that.
We have some, not enough, but I'm always proud of us for having gotten through some tough times and survived a couple of really terrible financial periods in our life together. We could make it six months with what we have on hand and we have taken advantage of 401k matching.
We have come from families who had very little our whole lives - our parents had minimal retirement and are relying on social security - so the fact that we have some savings that would tide us over a rough patch is a huge step up from what we grew up with.
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Post by disneypal on Aug 30, 2016 12:59:57 GMT
I have about a year's worth of my salary in my savings account at the credit union. This is my long-term savings and I never take money out of it - only add to it. It will be there (hopefully) for retirement
I also have a checking and smaller savings account at my local bank. That savings is my emergency and rainy day fund. It has about 2 months salary in it. I seldom touch it but will tap into it for large car repairs or to pay my annual property tax and things like that.
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SweetieBsMom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,618
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Post by SweetieBsMom on Aug 30, 2016 12:59:57 GMT
Not nearly enough.
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Deleted
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Jun 2, 2024 4:06:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2016 13:00:01 GMT
Since there is practically no interest on a savings account at a bank, I haven't had one for many years. I just keep everything in checking. Its the same intrerst.
I have immediate access to a good part of our investments though.
As far as most people, there are different reports out there. One said that 60% Americans have no savings.
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Deleted
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Jun 2, 2024 4:06:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2016 13:03:00 GMT
In cash, we can get it from the bank today if we needed to, we have enough for a month's worth of expenses. That's not counting the investments that would require multiple phone calls and signing of papers in order to get the money.
Unfortunately, I think there are so many people that truly live paycheck to paycheck that they just don't know how to put money away or think they'll always have that paycheck so they don't save. I hear all too often from my ex that certain months are expensive so he's short some months. I want to tell him then plan for them better.
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scrappert
Prolific Pea
RefuPea #2956
Posts: 7,811
Location: Milwaukee, WI area
Jul 11, 2014 21:20:09 GMT
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Post by scrappert on Aug 30, 2016 13:05:36 GMT
Not enough!
I would love to have a year's salary in savings! That is just a dream. I try to plug away and then something happens and I have to start all over.
I have 401k, but that is it.
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Deleted
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Jun 2, 2024 4:06:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2016 13:08:37 GMT
Ha Ha! I'm paying round two of college tuition.
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kelly8875
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,391
Location: Lost in my supplies...
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Post by kelly8875 on Aug 30, 2016 13:09:18 GMT
I'm a saver... I'm 41, and have several years salary saved in all types of accounts. Most of it isn't accessible quickly without penalty of taxes, but that's okay. The point is to save it for future. I would be able to get it in case of emergency. My life situation has changed due to divorce, and honestly, I'll be able to save even more going forward. I was the saver, XDH was the spender.
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Deleted
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Jun 2, 2024 4:06:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2016 13:12:32 GMT
I think most Americans carry less than a thousand in savings.
I have no savings. My fiancé has several years salary in savings and cash in the safe. But he was single and didn't need anything so he just put it up.
My daughter is dating a boy from a well off family and said he was rich. I said no, he's 17, his parents are rich. I live by the rule if you didn't earn it it isn't yours.
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Deleted
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Jun 2, 2024 4:06:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2016 13:16:25 GMT
Right now we have a healthy cushion because of my dh's severance pay that he's been getting for the last 4-5 months. He found a job right away after he was laid off, so it's been like getting double pay.
Lana
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Post by jeremysgirl on Aug 30, 2016 13:20:59 GMT
We have recently fallen on some hard times. My ex had a heart attack and a stroke, so he was not paying child support. And my DH's work has been spotty because of rain and a stint in the hospital so we have virtually run through our savings lately. Plus, we had to buy another car. So it is hard times right now at my house and my savings has been hit pretty hard. We are currently living paycheck to paycheck and it isn't pleasant. We are hoping we can finish out the summer and fall strong and save for winter, when DH will get laid off.
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Post by jassy on Aug 30, 2016 13:25:36 GMT
Not enough  but we are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel and I'm hopeful that we will be able to start saving more. Although one son starts college next year. Ugh! Fortunately, we've always been good about our retirement plans and I have 3x my annual salary in my 401K (I'm 44), and my DH has a decent 401K plus a pretty secure pension after 25 years at UPS. I better not drop dead right after retirement - I'll be pissed ;-) We've had some lean times, but I hope retirement is more comfortable for us. |
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tincin
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,368
Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
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Post by tincin on Aug 30, 2016 13:28:31 GMT
More than some but not as much as I'd like. I have a couple of savings and checking accounts. I work to enjoy life, and I do. I'm lucky I have a pension as well as a 401 so while I continue to contribute to my 401 I am not too worried about retirement. Could I save more? Yes. Will I? I doubt it.
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Post by Bitchy Rich on Aug 30, 2016 13:30:57 GMT
I keep a year's worth of salary in a savings account. I think everyone has a different level of comfort with the amount of cash they need to have on hand. At the very minimum, I need to be able to pay for a furnace or a roof with no notice. I could not deal with the stress that would come from only having a couple hundred dollars available to me.
I have friends who live paycheck to paycheck. They also eat out several times a week, lease nice cars, and always have new technology. I go without those things so I can feel more financially secure. It's worth it to me.
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StephDRebel
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,666
Location: Ohio
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Post by StephDRebel on Aug 30, 2016 13:31:01 GMT
I was never taught to save or manage money at all, and i'm working through getting over the anxiety that having any accessible savings brings. As a broke single mom it seemed like every time I got a tiny bit ahead and was able to save something happened that set me back even further. I'm completely shocked at how hard that has been to get over.
right now, our savings is much better than the majority of our friends, much higher than it's ever been in the past, but not even close to where we would like it to be.
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Post by giatocj on Aug 30, 2016 13:34:05 GMT
Right now we have plenty...and put away quite a bit between several savings accounts. In two years, however, quite a chunk of that will be going to the down payment on a house when we relocate, but we should still be in pretty good shape with other vehicles of savings (401k's, IRA's, etc.).
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perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439
Location: Idaho
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Post by perumbula on Aug 30, 2016 13:57:44 GMT
Not nearly enough. We just finally got to the point where we could save each month. We were trying before but our financial picture was such that as soon as we got $500 in the bank we'd have something come up that we needed to spend it on. It's exhausting. We're saving now and it's nice to have that cushion. We hope to have six months of living expenses in the bank in a year. Of course, now that we are getting more income we are also finding all the things we've put off fixing, replacing, or buying because we didn't have the money before. It's a balancing act.
I also think it's very classist to assume everyone who's not saving is being careless with their money. Please keep in mind that a very large portion of our country is now living below the poverty line. It's pretty hard to save under those circumstances.
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Deleted
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Jun 2, 2024 4:06:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2016 13:58:19 GMT
We're supposed to save money? Dammit!
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Post by KelleeM on Aug 30, 2016 14:17:18 GMT
A lot less than a month ago when we bought our first home!
I could get enough cash today to pay all of our expenses for 6 months, including our mortgage.
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Post by melanell on Aug 30, 2016 14:18:29 GMT
Hugs, @calimom2.
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Post by pastlifepea on Aug 30, 2016 14:20:32 GMT
One year ago we were sitting pretty. Then, in October of last year, our previous home, now a rental property in South Carolina flooded. It is not in or anywhere near a flood plain. We did not have flood insurance and FEMA was unable to help because it is a rental and therefore a "business." SBA offered us a loan...at 8% interest. Nope. We pretty much cleaned out our liquid savings and paid for the remainder with a no interest loan from DH's military retirement account. At the end of the day, it cost about $55,000 to get it cleaned and repaired. I feel very blessed we had the resources to get it repaired as many people in the area did not and FEMA offered minimal assistance to them in that regard.
We had started to rebuild the savings but bought a home here in Florida in July and closing costs pretty much put us close to back to square one again. I still feel very lucky though as I know there are MANY people who don't have any savings or really any prospect of being able to build savings.
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but we are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel and I'm hopeful that we will be able to start saving more. Although one son starts college next year. Ugh! 
