Do You Have Emergency Savings? [POLL]

According to the Wall Street Journal, one in four Americans have no emergency savings. Many who are able to save money still don't have the recommended six months worth of savings stashed away.

Despite Americans being more secure in their jobs and more comfortable with their debt since the recession ended, their savings capacity remains weak even among those with highest-income household. Only 46% of those with annual income of $75,000 or above have enough savings to cover six months of expenses.

“People are not making progress. Incomes are stagnating and expenses are high,” said Greg McBride, Bankrate.com’s chief financial analyst. He said that many people are still struggling with payments from the past years and high household costs.

The report also indicates that the segment of the population aged between 30 and 49 are the most likely to have no emergency fund compared with younger people. “That is alarming because those are the people with a house, two cars and a dog but still with no emergency savings. You need emergency savings,” he added.

Although, people between 18 and 30 years old are more likely to have up to five months savings. Mr. McBride commented that the recession might have had a positive takeaway: younger people learned the lesson and are now saving more.

Mr. McBride doesn’t see any improvement in Americans’ saving capacity as long as there is no substantial income  growth.

Do you have six months (or more) worth of savings as an emergency fund? Let us know in today's KFYO Poll of the Day.