According to a new report from Bankrate, nearly six in ten Americans do not have enough savings to cover an unexpected $500 expense. Only 41 percent of adults report having enough in their savings accounts to cover a surprise bill of this magnitude. As reported by CNN Money, a little more than one in five said that they would put the expense on a credit card. Another one in five would have to reduce their spending while 11 percent would turn to friends and family for financial assistance.
Believe it or not, the fact that only forty one percent of adults can handle an unplanned $500 expense represents an improvement over last year, when only 37 percent of Americans reported having enough savings to cover an expense of five hundred dollars or more. What is perhaps most surprising is that it is millennials who appear to be the most financially prepared to handle negative monetary shocks.
47 percent of those ages 18 to 29 say that they could dip into their savings to cover an unplanned expense. Almost half of the approximately 1,000 adults surveyed for the study indicate that they or a family member faced a major financial expenditure over the past year.
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