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82% Of Americans Say They Couldn't Afford $500 Emergency Thanks To COVID-19

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And recent reports show unemployment climbing again, while DC sits on their hands...

Respondent’s emergency savings have also taken a hit since the pandemic. Overall, 47% say they have run out of their emergency savings funds and 67% regret not having enough emergency savings before the pandemic hit. And if they were faced with a surprise $500 expense, 82% say they would not be able to afford it.

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After the unemployment rate spiked to more than 14% in April, Americans continue to be wary about their job security and income. According to respondents, more than a quarter feel they do not currently have a stable income, and 63% say they have been living paycheck to paycheck since the pandemic. Millennials appear to be the hardest hit demographic as 64% say they are living paycheck to paycheck.

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According to respondents, 63% have cut back on spending during COVID-19 due to a number of reasons, including feeling the need to be more cautious with their finances (60%), experiencing a reduced salary or income (49%), and staying home more often (40%).

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https://highlandsolutions.com/blog/survey-reveals-spending-habits-during-covid-19

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 in 2016, the number of households without enough savings to cover a $500 emergency was 63%. It was 57% in 2013. 

 

The fed comes up with regular numbers on a $400 threshold.  https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2019-economic-well-being-of-us-households-in-2018-dealing-with-unexpected-expenses.htm

 

ETA: My bad here, the story I found the source numbers linked from was reporting on inability to cover a $400 expense. The below copy paste of the summary study from the table is the number who would cover it form savings.

Year Percent
2018 61
2017 59
2016 56
2015 54
2014 53
2013 50
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2 hours ago, Bklynracer said:

I find the 82% number extremely high, based on the 47% have run out.

is my thinking off?

Maybe that 82% also includes the ones that don't have any credit line left on their credit cards, besides not having any savings?

....."As Americans look to cover their basic needs during COVID-19, many have taken on new debt in the process. According to respondents, more than a quarter say they’ve accumulated $10,000 or more in debt, and 42% say they have taken on more debt than they normally would apart from buying a home."

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14 hours ago, Sniper said:

But they can easily come up with $800 for a new iPhone thingy, or a $500 Play Station while ordering dinner through Uber Eats.

 

this. times a thousand.

 

or they go out and buy that half million dollar house that they can't really afford. or they buy that mercedes they can't really afford.

 

i see people with a half dozen credit/debit cards in their wallets. they never have cash on them for whatever reason. most are living in perpetual debt. i don't want to hear "there's good debt and there's bad debt". debt is debt.

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I feel for the children, even though their parents are morons for not planning on how to keep food on the table. With the extra people are getting from unemployment why would they go back to work, cut it off. Pass on the new Iphone.

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Reminds me of one of the reasons that I moved out of the last municipality that I lived in.  I was at a grocery store and the couple in front of me was buying various foodstuffs and cases of bottled water with food stamps.  They were dressed in fancy leather jackets and were wearing tons of jewelry.  After "paying," they went to the parking lot and loaded everything up into their Mercedes and drove off.  That evening, I decided to GTFO.

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11 minutes ago, Ice199 said:

I don't know how much I believe these surveys. But if you drive by Walmart or the malls you would think other wise.

I think that this is one of those things where humans being bad at determining scale comes into play. 

You don't need a lot of the population showing up to keep a store busy or sell out an item. 

Yeah PS5s  are flying off the shelf, but that's projected to be 5 million by 12-31-2020. On a planet with 7.5 billion people. Even if that were US sales and one per household, that would be sales to between 4-5% of households. None of those 80% of households need to be participating in sales to hit those numbers. 

People who got the money or credit are also likely leaning into the holiday to create something positive to look forward to. Which is sort of why these winter holidays existed in the first place. A bunch of bored people stuck inside more than they are used to trying to get through the dark days of winter and in need of a spot of cheer. 

 

 

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3 hours ago, JackDaWack said:

Why don't you Google it. Do I have to do everything for you? 

I have, and your statement defines reality. That's why I asked.

Got some links? I'd like to see where you get your information.

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30 minutes ago, Sniper said:

I have, and your statement defines reality. That's why I asked.

Got some links? I'd like to see where you get your information.

Depends if he’s talking about during covid, or the numbers I posted. We had significantly recovered from the 2007 recession prior to this shitstorm in terms of investments, unemployment, and actual wages, but as we did, more people had less financial buffer. 

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48 minutes ago, Sniper said:

I have, and your statement defines reality. That's why I asked.

Got some links? I'd like to see where you get your information.

So the statements made by 99% of economists defies reality? 

You can find the links on your own. Stop being lazy. Or in this case ignorant. Im sure you drift over 99% of what you read until you hit the 1% that you agree with. 

Its not like you've been trying to rub two nickles together for 12 years now. Right? I know I sure as shit haven't been living in a recession since 2012. I've seen my net worth increase drastically, along with every person in my family, and many friends. 

The economy is not measured by debt or savings, yet 99% of people perceive those two single factors as their financial meter. Its also not measured by people getting back what they lost pre recession...yet that is what people look for. 

 

 

 

16 minutes ago, raz-0 said:

Depends if he’s talking about during covid, or the numbers I posted. We had significantly recovered from the 2007 recession prior to this shitstorm in terms of investments, unemployment, and actual wages, but as we did, more people had less financial buffer. 

Sniper is saying at no point in time has the economy recovered since 2008, even pre covid. 

Its pointless to argue because he will just post a billion diagrams about personal debt and he will argue it for 3 pages. 

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51 minutes ago, JackDaWack said:

Sniper is saying at no point in time has the economy recovered since 2008, even pre covid. 

Wrong again. The country went back into recession this past February, before Covid hit. The economy started having financial issues back in the Fall of 2019. Go ahead, Google it.... I'll wait.

Where's the recovery from the current recession? Recoveries come AFTER a recession hits.

17 hours ago, JackDaWack said:

Interesting that the percent ill prepared for an emergency increased as the economy recovered.

Did you forget there was an official recession announced in February?

Here, I did the work for you. See Google works, you should try it sometime:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-08/it-s-official-nber-says-record-u-s-expansion-ended-in-february

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/us-recession-started-in-february-researchers-say

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/business/economy/us-economy-recession-2020.html

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@Sniper

Wtf are you talking about?

I specifically commented on the shit posted from 2013 to 2018.. ya know the ONLY data here showing the trend I pointed out 

Get with it, man.

What does anything after 2018 have to do with my comment? Oh right, absofuckinglutly NOTHING.

If this wasn't evident it should have been considering what was posted here. But flame the fuck on man. 

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OK, both of you... this is getting old. It's a discussion, not a cage match. Knock it off.

2 hours ago, Sniper said:

Zabuca, join the conversation, come show us your brilliance, instead of your normal Emoji crap.

And stop trying to goad other members into jumping into the same cage. I won't give this warning again. Thank you! 

 

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2 hours ago, JackDaWack said:

absofuckinglutly

I need to remember that one. Seems like it would come in handy. lol

Not into joining the bash fest but, from what my investments/401k have been doing... Up up up, I am feeling pretty good about the economy. I work in the chemical industry, when we ship tons and tons of all types of chemicals, it is a very strong indication manufacturing is up, in turn, the economy is up. We have been shipping 20% more than pre-covid. I am talking 40' and 20 ' containers within the USA and overseas.

 

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2 hours ago, JackDaWack said:

I specifically commented on the shit posted from 2013 to 2018.. ya know the ONLY data here showing the trend I pointed out 

You didn't specifically reply/comment to anything, since there wasn't a quote attached to your comment. And even then, it doesn't make sense, the last recession/downturn was in 2008. Five years later was 2013, long past normal recovery timelines. Hell, the average business cycle is 5-1/2 years. We should have had another recession and recovery years ago.

2 hours ago, JackDaWack said:

What does anything after 2018 have to do with my comment? Oh right, absofuckinglutly NOTHING.

What was the title of this thread again, and what was it referencing? The discussion was about the economic situation in 2020, not the last recession 12 years ago.

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2 minutes ago, Sniper said:

You didn't specifically reply/comment to anything, since there wasn't a quote attached to your comment. And even then, it doesn't make sense, the last recession/downturn was in 2008. Five years later was 2013, long past normal recovery timelines. Hell, the average business cycle is 5-1/2 years. We should have had another recession and recovery years ago.

What was the title of this thread again, and what was it referencing? The discussion was about the economic situation in 2020, not the last recession 12 years ago.

So pointing out the downward trend of the POINT OF YOUR thread is completely relevant and its why someone else posted it and why I commented on it. 

 

And on cue, you deflected the point again about the last economic recovery. 

 

Its entirely worth pointing out that 82% of Americans not prepared for an emergency has little to do with covid Or any aspect of the economy. 

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20 minutes ago, JackDaWack said:

Its entirely worth pointing out that 82% of Americans not prepared for an emergency has little to do with covid Or any aspect of the economy. 

The article in the OP was specifically pointing out how people's personal financial situation has changed SINCE Covid, not the past recession/recovery. If you want to go back years or decades, and examine their finances, feel free.

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37 minutes ago, Sniper said:

The article in the OP was specifically pointing out how people's personal financial situation has changed SINCE Covid, not the past recession/recovery. If you want to go back years or decades, and examine their finances, feel free.

So how do you determine how it has "changed" with out examining at least the last 5-10 years smartypants?

 

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