Half of Americans are just one paycheck away from financial hardship

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Missing more than one paycheck is a one-way ticket to financial hardship for nearly half of the country’s workforce.

A new study from NORC at the University of Chicago, an independent social research institution, found that 51% of working adults in the United States would need to access savings to cover necessities if they missed more than one paycheck.

Certain communities were more prone to economic hardship in the event of missing a paycheck. Roughly two-thirds of households earning less than $30,000 annually and Hispanic households would be unable to cover basic living expenses after missing more than one paycheck, the researchers found.



The findings were based on a survey of more than 1,000 adults. The researchers interviewed a nationally representative panel designed to be indicative of the U.S. population.

The survey provides a sobering look at Americans’ precarious finances even as the economy is improving, jobs are more plentiful and the stock market has — despite this week’s volatility — generally continued its upward trajectory this year.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/half-of-americans-are-just-one-paycheck-away-from-financial-hardship/ar-AABsqH8?li=BBnb7Kz

[rownesheck]

1. I'm surprised

it's only half. My family has some things coming up quite soon which have caused us to seriously discuss going on a strict diet of ramen and/ or beans and rice (which isn't the worst thing in the world). We are trying to get ahead of it in the hopes we can make it through with only a little hurt.

We certainly aren't in the worst financial shape, and it scares me for those who are struggling day to day. Makes me sad. How do you pull yourself up by the bootstraps when your bootstraps are broken? Gotta love that American capitalism.

[tblue37]

3. Or when you don't even have boots? nt

[tblue37]

2. And many of them missed several paychecks during that long government shutdown. nt

[MichMan]

4. I honestly don't understand this chart?

Not dismissing the fact that way too many people live paycheck to paycheck, but this chart doesn't make any sense to me.

Of course 51% would need to go to their savings if they were short on funds. That is where most people keep their money for when they need it for future expenditures, whether they have missed a paycheck or not.

What about the other 49% who don't need to go into their savings if they missed a paycheck? Do they keep extra cash hid in a matress or something? It doesn't state that missing one paycheck would cause people to miss paying their rent, run out of food, or have no gas in their car. Just that they don't need to go to their savings.