Study:Americans Don't Save Enough, Spend Too Much Savings
Why is not saving a problem? I thought that was the patriotic thing to do.
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Many Americans don't save enough and some tend to dip into savings when times are tough - a trend that could threaten financial security in retirement, according to an industry survey.
The online survey, released Monday by the GE Center for Financial Learning in Richmond, Va., randomly polled 1,000 American households. The margin of error is +/- 3%.
"People should be saving at least 10% of their income," said Derek Dingle, a member of the advisory board of the GE Center for Financial Learning, a unit of General Electric Co. (GE). "They need to engage in some financial planning to help them reach their goal - keep track of their money and do those small things to get them in the habit of saving."
Overall, those who earn more tend to save more of their monthly income, according to the survey. At the same time, the greater a person's income, the more likely that individual will spend potential savings on vacations and clothing.
Women are more likely than men to save in order to pay off debt. Yet most people, regardless of age or income, have more than three months of savings reserved for emergency needs. But the majority would like to be saving more.
Excessive credit-card debt prevents many from putting away as much as they'd like. But some also don't save because they prefer to be "impulsive" or because "life is too short," according to the survey. |
