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190

44% of Americans can't pay an unexpected $1,000 expense from savings. ‘We're just not wired to save,’ expert says (www.cnbc.com)

submitted 7 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

34 comments fedilink hide all child comments

When faced with an unexpected $1,000 expense, more than one-third of Americans would borrow the money, according to a new Bankrate survey. That may include tapping their credit cards, seeking money from friends or family or taking out a personal loan.

Most would not turn to cash savings because they don’t have it, the personal finance website found.

Fewer than half of Americans, 44%, say they can afford to pay a $1,000 emergency expense from their savings, according to Bankrate’s survey of more than 1,000 respondents conducted in December.

That is up from 43% in 2023, yet level when compared to 2022.

“We’re just not wired to save,” said Brad Klontz, a certified financial planner and expert in financial psychology and behavioral finance. Our brains are instead programmed to focus on our immediate needs.

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[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 159 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (6 children)

“We’re just not wired to save,” said Brad Klontz, a certified financial planner and expert in financial psychology and behavioral finance. Our brains are instead programmed to focus on our immediate needs.

Hahaha, this guy can legit go fuck himself. We're in a fucking Gilded Age where we're being fucking bled dry by fucking corporations ripping us off, nickel and dime-ing us to death, and just fucking over customers as much as they can to make a buck.

But nooooo, it couldn't be that half the country isn't paid a fucking living wage!

You couldn't get by in the cheapest places in the country.

Right now Lubbock, Texas has rents roughly $900 a month for a one bedroom apartment (Lubbock is cited in many studies as one of the cheapest rental markets in the US).

Minimum wage is $7.25 in Texas.

To afford a $900 apartment on your own, you would need to be making $16.87 an hour.

The average wage in Lubbock is $26,413/year, or about $13.75, which is about three dollars short of a renter allowing you to rent that place (income per month x 3 is the standard).

So, even in the cheapest places to rent in the country nobody can actually afford to live alone.

But sure Klontz, you fucking clod, it's that "wE'rE jUsT nOt wIrEd tO sAvE!" What a fucking crock of shit. Can someone who knows this person in real life maybe try slapping the fucking stupid out of his idiot face?

EDIT: Shit like this why idiotic people like Trump voters don't trust "experts." If he's an expert I'm Mickey Fucking Mouse and Disney can just try suing me for existing.

[–] Shadywack@lemmy.world 29 points 7 months ago

We were also wired not to be born rich with a silver spoon up our asses. We're wired for higher education to cost 180% higher than it was 20 years ago. We're wired that our healthcare expenses can cause bankruptcy if we develop a serious illness that requires surgery. We're wired that car insurance went up 20% in one year. We're wired that grocery costs went up 35% in one year, in some states. We're wired that all these gigantic cost increases happen, but our compensation only goes up 2.5-3% depending on employer.......or we're laid off entirely.

Everything you just said was extremely well put, and this guy needs to be TOLD to fuck off.

[–] Grobmobularb@lemmy.world 17 points 7 months ago

I won’t lie, I’m lucky and make a good living but I still had to pay $17,000 just for groceries last year for a family of five. It has gotten fucking crazy!!

[–] IamSparticles@lemmy.zip 9 points 7 months ago

EDIT: Shit like this why idiotic people like Trump voters don’t trust “experts.” If he’s an expert I’m Mickey Fucking Mouse and Disney can just try suing me for existing.

He's an "expert" in selling his services as a financial advisor.

[–] festus@lemmy.ca 8 points 7 months ago

I have pretty decent savings, but I also live in a country with public health care. With some health incidents in the last few years that required the ER, I suspect that in the US I'd be broke.

[–] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

Both things can be true. I think there is something to the remark that people aren't wired to save. I don't feel like I can afford to buy frivolous things at every store I go into and I make decent money. On the other hand, I know someone making FAR less than me who literally does buy junk every chance they get.

I do feel like I am the outlier, I've been saving money since I was a child and everyone else around me tended to blow any lump sum of money as soon as they got it. Whereas I would spend 0-10% and put the rest in savings.

[–] red@sopuli.xyz 1 points 7 months ago

Land of the free with Capitalism sounds like a pretty great way to run a nation!

[–] Chainweasel@lemmy.world 127 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

"we're not wired to save" is a weird way of saying ~~44%~~ 56% of Americans barely make it paycheck to paycheck with no disposable income.

Edit: wrong percentage

[–] nicetriangle@kbin.social 0 points 7 months ago

Yeah something like 25% of Americans make under $35k. That's poverty wages in this economy.

[–] lennybird@lemmy.world 65 points 7 months ago (3 children)

"Not wired to save" ... Mother fucker is completely out of touch with systemic pressures squeezing every last ounce out of people.

Friends of ours busted their asses to raise kids and simultaneously go to college for accounting. The other parent rose up to management in a factory.

They still can't afford a basic house and are endlessly caught in a loop as renters where they get fucked even more.

My wife and I were lucky in the timing of getting our home and lucky to just know a realtor in our family. Luck, luck, luck. I'm not working half as hard as they are if I'm honest and they are getting fucked by a system that doesn't give a shit about them, all the while the rich get richer then turn around and tell all the plebs to blame the poor immigrants seeking a better life.

[–] Facebones@reddthat.com 9 points 7 months ago

I got injured overseas and after some years got a pension. I held a job down for a while and bought a house as it fell through. Couple years later I got bumped to a conditional 100% with the va. (a LA your point, alot of luck - most people fight for years to get close to the 70% I got out the gate)

My benefit payment (basically $45k as of this year) is more than people I know in their late 30s with college degree jobs and skilled labor jobs with years under their belts. My mortgage is under $500. (again, luck, got alot of house for the price at the time) Granted, I do live in a pretty "economically depressed" rural city, but my house I paid 75k for ~8 years ago now spitballs for 190k for reference.

[–] thisisnotgoingwell@programming.dev 8 points 7 months ago

You gotta make 100-150k to live comfortably (not luxuriously) in most major cities... Has not much to do with not being "wired to save", agreed

[–] olmium@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

But why have children if you can't or struggle to afford them? Save for longer...then have kids.

[–] lennybird@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Even if they didn't, it would make little difference.

But (and I don't know in their case) unplanned kids or not aside, now you're saying they should wait for this magical time where they might be able to afford owning a home (when in reality they probably did at the time feel they could when prices were lower), versus the fact that you can't just magically have kids whenever. The older you get, the more risks and complications versus the challenge of simply raising kids when you're older in general.

The point is there was a time when this sort of calculated planning wasn't necessary; yet the squeeze from the rich now makes it so we have to literally postpone fucking life because of how rigged the real estate market and the broader wealth gap is.

The point is there are only dilemmas and no good options while societal pressures continue to increase for the poor and middle-class. Besides that, there's a lot of tolerance and room for forgiveness when you're rich. Not so much when you're poor. Make one mistake and you're fucked. And no, this is not a meritocracy.

[–] newthrowaway20@lemmy.world 49 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Bull shit we're not wired to save. This fool talks like the rich haven't been stealing our wealth for the last 50 years and we aren't left with nothing.

But then they say we waste our money because we have a fucking phone or the internet or avocado toast which last I checked avocados are pretty fucking cheap, as is bread. Like you can function in this world without having a phone or Internet, nowadays. Even homeless people have a fucking phone. Try finding a job without the internet or a phone.

We've been robbed our whole lives, and this fuck says that's your fault.

[–] myrdinn@lemmy.world 48 points 7 months ago (2 children)

affordable housing, healthcare, and education might help. can we get some of that?

[–] Deello@lemm.ee 10 points 7 months ago

If I had affordable housing and education I might be able to afford healthcare. MIGHT be.

[–] hawgietonight@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Be careful, you may have it good now. For the next generation, they will make them pay a subscription to the police and firefighters service.

[–] quams69@lemmy.world 19 points 7 months ago

Lmfao WHAT savings I was almost homeless this year working full time for CVS

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 12 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Not wired to save? Fuck off! We are collectively underpaid, you disingenuous shitwit!

[–] BakerBagel@midwest.social 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The factory i work at has had three 45¢ raises since 2008. Sure the $20/hour was great during the recession, but it's hardly enough to live on today, and that's over double my state's minimum wage.

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

I remember reading a study from about 10-20 years ago that found the average income for Americans to actually get by with enough to make it to retirement and have adequate healthcare was $75,000 a year. It's probably much higher now too: The increasing levels of disparity are just fucking disgusting.

[–] bob_lemon@feddit.de 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I'm just going assume they wanted to say "not wired enough money to save" but forgot the middle part

[–] EatATaco@lemm.ee 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Can you expand?

[–] mimic_kry@sh.itjust.works 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The rich not only control the media, but vast swaths of our academics as well. Especially so-called economists and "business experts", like the bootlicker quoted here.

These people know nothing about neurology or psychology. They're being paid to repeat bullshit so people get complacent (and worse, use their 'expertise' to influence lawmaking).

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

but vast swaths of our academics as well

They literally drive what academia cares about. They're the reason there's been so much push to drop all arts and humanities, because FUCK CRITICAL THINKING AMIRITE?

[–] mimic_kry@sh.itjust.works 4 points 7 months ago

Precisely. Our education system is deeply mired in the muck of privatized funding of public education. Hopefully we can root this shit out and enforce some regulations soon.

Honestly just restricting private donations and forcing them to fucking pay taxes like the rest of us would fix a large part of this.

[–] NENathaniel@lemmy.ca 7 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Controversial thought maybe, but I indeed have many friends who should and could afford to save, and choose not to.

None of these friends are wealthy or have high salary's, they're just bad with money

[–] EatATaco@lemm.ee 4 points 7 months ago

Yeah, I'm curious as to what percentage of that group simply can't afford to save, and the percentage that simply choose to spend instead. Like you, I know people who certainly could be saving money, but instead have new phones all the time and also are driving leased luxury cars.

[–] lepinkainen@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

Saving is slow and boring, it’s easier just to get a credit card and buy something cool. Much more of a rush va seeing a number go up a tiny bit every month.

[–] cabron_offsets@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

Feck off.

[–] Coreidan@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago

It has nothing to do with “wiring”. It’s a lack of education.

[–] Hairyblue@kbin.social 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I think it is more like people don't have high paying jobs with extra money to save.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 0 points 7 months ago

The media has been blaming poor people for not having money for forty fucking years or more.