WASHINGTON-According to the latest survey by the Federal Reserve Bank, that looked at the financial well-being of American citizens, 31 percent of us, around 76 million people say they are having trouble making ends meet and are barely getting by.
The bad part is that is actually good news. The results from the previous study two years ago recorded 38 percent of Americans were not in good financial health, so the number is dropping, according to an article on CNN.
The story continues to point out that is why the nation’s economy is such a big factor in the upcoming presidential election. Millions of Americans have not been able to right the ship since the end of the Great Recession.
Speaking of the survey results, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard said, “It’s important to identify the reasons why so many families face continued financial struggles and to find ways to help them overcome them.”
Also noted in the survey was the question would you be able to cover an unexpected $400 bill if it came up, and 46 percent of respondents said they could not and would need to sell something or borrow the money to cover the bill.
And it wasn’t just the lower economic classes with the problem, as 38 percent of middle class Americans also said they would have trouble covering the emergency expenditure. Somewhat surprisingly, even 19 percent of those making over $100,000 per year admitted they would also not be able to meet the expense easily.
According to the survey, almost half of all Americans spend less than they make, and the percentage of those saving money is 9 points higher than the previous survey. But, almost one-third of non-retired adults reported they do not have any retirement savings put back, including 27 percent who are age 60 and older. That is the likely reason 42 percent of them say they will work until they reach 70, or never plan to retire.
More adults in the latest survey said they were living comfortably or doing all right than in the earlier survey, and slightly over half said they felt the value of their homes had increased over the past year, a good sign.
The Federal Reserve report can be found here.