I have run across a statistic several times in the past week or so, that only 28 percent of people in America are financially healthy. This per the inaugural U.S. Financial Health Pulse survey completed by the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI). It seems another so-called "think tank" about finances that really just tries to push you into using a financial planner, but because it was done in partnership with the AARP, an organization that millions of people, myself included, find value in, I take it a bit more seriously.
I skimmed the study as I often do rather than simply reading someone else's summary and found some interesting things.
Such as:
So what does this mean to you and me?
I think that it is fair to say that if I could begin generating a significant amount of income outside of my regular nine-to-five job that provides well over ninety percent of our family's income, I would begin to feel like we're moving toward the twenty-eight percent of Americans who feel financially healthy.
I know that I will never crack into the rarefied air of the one percent. I do have aspirations to become a twenty percenter, but have not yet done so.
Barring that, I would like to crack into the twenty-eight percent who could be considered financially healthy.
Who wouldn't?
I skimmed the study as I often do rather than simply reading someone else's summary and found some interesting things.
Such as:
- Only 28% of people in America are considered financially healthy;
- Nearly half of people in America, 47%, spent more than or equal to their income in the past twelve months;
- More than a third of people, 36%, are unable to pay all of their bills on time;
- Nearly one out of five Americans, 17%, are considered financially vulnerable and almost half of those individuals, 45%, have less than one week's worth of expenses saved; and
- Nearly a third of Americans, 30%, say they have more debt than is manageable.
- 42% have no retirement savings at all.
- More than half, 55%, are struggling with some, but not all aspects of financial health and can be considered financially coping.
The inaugural report scores respondents against eight indicators, including bill payment, spending, short-term savings, debt load, insurance, saving for retirement, planning, and credit, to assess whether they are “financially healthy,” “financially coping,” or “financially vulnerable;” the three tiers identified in the report. These initial findings connect to and build upon previous individual data points about financial health to provide a deeper contextual understanding of the state of financial health in America and form benchmarks for tracking progress over time.
So what does this mean to you and me?
One thing is that we do not want to be among the unfortunate souls or those who lack the planning skills to be able to save more than a few weeks' or months' worth of funds in our rainy day accounts.
Readers of this blog and ones like it tend to be closer to the twenty-eight percent if not already well ensconced within it.
Me, I fluctuate between thinking of me and my family as "financially healthy," "financially coping" and "financially vulnerable" depending on what week it is.
Some weeks, like this one, it is very challenging to Pay Ourselves Before the Piper, other weeks I feel a sense of abundance and yet others I feel as if we're on the precipice of a financial cliff.
I think that it is fair to say that if I could begin generating a significant amount of income outside of my regular nine-to-five job that provides well over ninety percent of our family's income, I would begin to feel like we're moving toward the twenty-eight percent of Americans who feel financially healthy.
I know that I will never crack into the rarefied air of the one percent. I do have aspirations to become a twenty percenter, but have not yet done so.
Barring that, I would like to crack into the twenty-eight percent who could be considered financially healthy.
Who wouldn't?
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