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Greg McBride, Bankrate.com senior financial analyst, on Bankrate's latest survey, which found one in six Americans have no credit card debt or emerge...
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Personal finance experts suggesting you have to have between three to six months of living expenses in your savings account -- -- new survey out today.
By being brought dot Bankrate dot com shows that only 46%.
Of Americans are a whopping 46% I should say.
And have more credit card debt and -- do an emergency savings joining me now with more.
-- -- Greg McBride senior financial analyst with Bankrate dot com and -- it's always really fascinating the results of this survey every -- -- Do that is what are the latest results show and I guess is -- getting worse or is it getting better exit -- matter here.
Also -- there's plenty of room for improvement clearly only a little bit more than half of Americans have more money in savings.
Then they do credit card dad and you know ideally that's a number that should be a 100% by.
Lot of people are still in the camp of either having more credit card debt than savings or I think worse off.
They have neither want which means they don't have any high cost debt but -- -- an emergency savings either and so.
They're just one unplanned expense away from having some high cost debt and the trend really.
We did not see the need to move very much of the last twelve months and that's a concern true because.
We're at this time where people are supposedly focusing on paying down debt boosting savings that they dug -- hole so deep that it's just gonna take a long time to right size the equation.
You know arguably Greg a lot of the reason we're seeing these statistics and as poor as they are is is perhaps some of these people are are dipping into their emergency savings funds because they are without jobs because.
They've been hard hit by I had this financial -- by this economy that we're living in.
What are the -- -- overall guidelines say EU suggests our viewers follow I mean.
Obviously makes sense to kind of take small steps rather than big stride as as we planned to words financial security.
The biggest barrier to not having that saving is not being in the habit of doing so and the best way to establish the -- Pay yourself first have direct deposit from your paycheck into a dedicated savings account this does two things -- -- not only getting that savings done first.
But -- also forcing yourself to live on less than you make.
Which is also critical to being able to pay down -- and boost savings so I think that's really really important you know that that six -- savings cushion that we all need.
Very few people have it we found in past surveys only about 24% of Americans have that.
But if you're in the habit of saving -- putting money away each and every -- day.
That's -- -- on the journey to get there and even if unplanned expenses come along you're just one paycheck away from rehabilitating or.
-- are putting more money into that savings and getting it back where it -- today.
That's a great -- in their direct deposit so they don't necessarily feel later see it every single last paycheck period.
Let me ask you Greg anything positive we can say because because the numbers are all that positive that anything favorable.
From the numbers that you saw.
Yeah I mean it -- what we're finding in terms of overall financial security for months in a -- consumers are actually feeling a little bit better.
And while the sentiment is still slightly negative relative to a year ago we're moving in the right direction and every time we see a good jobs report.
That's starting to resonate with consumers as well more consumers now actually feel more secure in their jobs -- feel less secure that's a big turnaround from where we were just twelve months ago.
Moving in the right direction -- what an emergency calls it doesn't really matter that you're moving in the right direction -- need to be prepared he gave us some great tips on doing so Greg McBride.
A Bankrate dot com thanks for being.
