NEW YORK, March 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time
in more than six years of polling, Americans say they feel more
comfortable with the savings they have now compared to the year
before, according to a new Bankrate.com report. Click here for more
information:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/consumer-index/financial-security-charts-0317.aspx
Unfortunately, they're not doing a better job at saving; 21% of
working Americans aren't saving any of their incomes, unchanged
from last year, while just 25% are saving more than 10% of their
incomes, down from 28% last year.
What are the biggest reasons Americans aren't saving more money?
The top answer, reported by nearly two-in-five, was having a lot of
expenses, and the second most common answer was "haven't gotten
around to it." After that, other reasons for not saving more
include not having a good enough job (16%) and debt, which was a
distant fourth on the list at 13%.
"This illustrates what is wrong with Americans and their
savings," said Bankrate.com chief financial analyst Greg McBride, CFA. "Too many Americans let their
lifestyles dictate what they save or whether they save at all,
instead of saving first and living on what is left over."
Nearly half of American workers (48%) are saving, but saving no
more than 10% of their pay, including one-quarter that are saving
between 1% and 5% of their incomes. Just 5% of working Americans
say they don't need to save more.
Good savings habits are not purely a function of income, as
households making $30,000-$49,999 per
year were nearly twice as likely to be saving more than 15% of
their incomes as households making between $50,000 and $74,999 annually. In fact, 22% of
households with an annual income between $30,000 and $49,999 are saving more than 10% of
their incomes.
Having a lot of expenses was the biggest reason for not saving
more for all age groups except the Silent Generation (age 72+).
Those that haven't gotten around to it are more likely younger
Millennials (ages 18-26) and seniors (63+).
Middle income households had a higher tendency to blame debt for
not saving more, and households with yearly incomes between
$30,000 and $49,999 were most likely
to say it's because their job isn't good enough.
Added McBride, "One-in-seven Americans say they aren't saving
more because they 'haven't gotten around to it.' Let's fix this
right now – change your 401k contribution or set up a direct
deposit in an amount equal to 10% of your paycheck. Now, figure out
how to live on what is left."
The Bankrate.com Financial Security Index rocketed to a record
high of 106.5, as Americans for the first time noted improvement
compared to the prior year on all five components: job security,
comfort level with savings and debt, net worth and overall
financial situation. Both men and women indicate improved feelings
of financial security over the past year.
The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research
Associates International. PSRAI obtained telephone interviews with
a nationally representative sample of 1,003 adults living in the
continental United States. Interviews were conducted by
landline (501) and cell phone (502, including 326 without a
landline phone) in English and Spanish by Princeton Data Source
from March 2-5, 2017. Statistical results are weighted to
correct known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling
error for the complete set of weighted data is plus or minus 3.8
percentage points.
About Bankrate.com:
Bankrate.com provides consumers with the expert advice and tools
needed to succeed throughout life's financial journey. For over two
decades, Bankrate.com has been a leading personal finance
destination. The company offers award-winning editorial
content, competitive rate information, and calculators and tools
across multiple categories, including mortgages, deposits, credit
cards, retirement, automobile loans, and taxes. Bankrate aggregates
rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300
financial products. With coverage of over 600 local markets,
Bankrate generates rate tables in all 50 U.S. states. Bankrate
develops and provides web services to more than 100 cobranded
websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted
and frequently visited personal finance sites on the internet, such
as Comcast, Yahoo!, CNBC and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate
licenses editorial content to more than 500 newspapers on a daily
basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today,
The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times.
For more information:
Ryan Feldman
Public Relations Specialist
ryan.feldman@bankrate.com
917-368-8637
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SOURCE Bankrate.com