There is Good News and Not So Good News
Guest Post Author: Madeline Fox
Financial insecurity is a reality for many Americans. 56% of people say they look favorably on their finances, yet 57% feel they are unprepared for a financial emergency. 50% would claim to be financially secure.
6 out of 10 Americans who “break even” actually are spending more than they make each month. 1 in 3 has no savings, which incidentally is the biggest worry for Americans coming in at 83% being concerned about it. 71% are worried about covering the bills they currently have, and 69% are worried about not having money to retire. 87% of those worrying so much about finances are looking for work. 68% make less than 25,000. 76% of concerned people have less than 10,000 in non-housing wealth. 66% are 18-34 year old, which makes sense as they are going to college, entering, and establishing themselves in the workforce during most of those years.
1 in 5 Americans feel like they will never be able to retire. Almost 1 in 3 houses has someone 55 or older with no retirement savings. 37% of Gen X feel that they are not at all financially secure and that is the largest number across all generations studied. Meanwhile 71% of Millennials are confident they will meet their financial goals.
Source: Masters-in-Accounting.org
Source of the above report: http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/Assets/2015/02/FSM-Poll-Results-Issue-Brief_ARTFINAL_v3.pdf
Dan and Steve Suggest
Thank You Ms. Fox for Sharing this Survey!
Education in personal finance (and in general) makes a difference. But you don’t have to have a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) to discover how to manage your money and succeed. It’s not that complicated, but it does take some effort. Dan and I are educators, not financial professionals! If you can read and do basic 6th-grade math, you can be a successful investor and gain financial independence. Educate yourself because nobody else is going to manage your money better than you, educated in personal finance.
According to the survey, the Millennial generation appears to know this. Young adults tell everybody they know and the media that SS and Pension systems will not be available when they retire in 30 years, yet 71% of them feel confident about their financial situation. What are they doing to earn such confidence?
Pick up a copy of one of John Bogle’s Investing books could help you eventually feel more confident about your financial situation (here is one: Little Book on Common Sense Investing, 2007 by John Bogle).
You can also pick up a copy of our book, Late Bloomer Millionaires, which is for the absolute beginner and who might be a late starter and/or this book just released written by John Bogle’s followers, Bogleheads Guide to Investing (2014).
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