RISMEDIA, July 24, 2007–Bankrate, Inc. today published the findings of its second annual poll questioning Americans on their emergency savings accounts. Bankrate found that over half of Americans polled (54 percent) are not equipped with an emergency savings fund (equal to three months living expenses).
To view Bankrate’s Financial Literacy 2007 – Guide to Building Personal Wealth, and the poll results go to http://www.bankrate.com/financialliteracy.
“Half of all Americans might be on the brink of financial disaster,” said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. “Many people living pay check to pay check would not be able to weather a financial storm, such as sudden unemployment or illness,” Mr. McBride said.
Some key findings of the poll include:
— Men are better savers overall, showing savings at 81 percent versus
women at 72 percent. When it comes to putting aside enough for an
emergency savings fund, the gap gets larger, with men totaling 53
percent, compared to women at 39 percent.
— Men gain more interest on their savings then women (81 percent versus
70 percent).
— Seventy percent of 18 to 24 year olds and almost 60 percent in the 25
to 34 year old category are not prepared in case of an emergency.
The national random-digit-dialed phone study of 1,005 adults 18 or older was conducted for Bankrate by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media. The surveys were conducted from June 29 through July 1, 2007. The sample was weighted by demographic factors including age, gender, race, education and census region to ensure reliable and accurate representation of adults in U.S. households. Results based on the entire sample of 1,005 adults are projectable to the entire adult population in the United States, with a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
For more information visit http://www.bankrate.com/
