Planning for the unexpected is crucial since life doesn’t always go as planned.
But only 44% of Americans are prepared for a $1,000 emergency expense, according to a survey from financial analysis site Bankrate. While a percentage point higher than last year, most people still say they would be derailed by such a crisis.
The report, published Tuesday, sampled answers from over 1,000 participants, 66% of whom who worry whether they could cover a month’s living expenses if they lost their primary source of household income.
Of the unprepared Americans, 21% said they would use a credit card for the necessary expenses, 16% would reduce their spending on other things to pay it upfront and 10% would ask a loved one to borrow money, the survey found. Just 4% said they would be forced to take out a personal loan.
“All too many Americans continue to walk on thin ice, financially speaking,” Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, said in the report.
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Most say high inflation makes it harder to save
Hamrick said that high inflation often stops people from saving more.
The study found that 63% of Americans blame high inflation for the difficulty of saving money. Just 45% cited rising interests rates, 41% cited a change in income and 42% listed another option.
“Inflation has been a key culprit standing in the way of further progress on the savings front,” Hamrick said. “Fortunately,…
