CNN reporting that the AVERAGE checking account has a $5,200 balance.

[Atman]

They cite this as part of the reason big banks don't care if smaller depositors leave for credit unions. That sounds like a high balance to me, but I could be wrong. How about you? Do you $5,200 on hand at any given time? Not in savings, just checking.

[a kennedy]

1. Then we're so below average we're in poverty.....

D*mn.....

[Octafish]

25. ''

Nest-egglessactly.

[trueblue2007]

64. CNN... IS...LYING..... I can't imagine there are very many people here with that kinda $$$$

THEY OFFER NO DOCUMENTATION??? THEN IT'S A LIE. figures, CNN... just behind FAUX in the lies they publish

[stevenleser]

72. Its not a lie at all. It is exactly what you would expect in the wealth desparity situation we have

Check some of my posts down thread.

[mdmc]

66. ..

[Fumesucker]

2. I wonder what the median balance is?

I suspect it's a lot lower than that.

[stillwaiting]

12. It's the only balance that matters due to the skewed income and wealth inequality in our country.

And you're right. It's definitely lower than that.

[stevenleser]

29. Exactly right both of you. I would bet median is less than $300 nt

[JoePhilly]

39. My first thought as well ... the average for this is useless.

[PETRUS]

41. That's the question to ask.

Remember when someone in NYC left their ATM receipt behind and it showed a seven figure balance?

[redqueen]

75. Exactly... they wouldn't dare publish that.(nt)

[eppur_se_muova]

94. Yes, that's the problem exactly. Plus they're probably inculding small business accounts. nt

[XemaSab]

98. So much this

:)

[SlipperySlope]

99. The MEDIAN checking account balance was $3100 in 2000

I can't find the original source of the data CNN is using today, but the CBO reported that the MEDIAN checking account balance in the year 2000 was $3100.

[hobbit709]

3. I certainly don't come close

and I'd say about 90% of the people I know don't have that much in theirs.

CNN continues to spout the corporate BS.

[mrs_p]

4. one account doesn't -

the one we use to pay all the bills. the other does (at times) - we use it for emergencies and such. we just moved the smaller account to a local CU. the larger account is in my husband's name and he will need to decide. i bet i can talk him into it, though...

edit to add: that second account is only so high at the times my husband works, which is only about 5-6 months of the year - we live off that money when the other account runs dry

[mmonk]

5. Not on average.

Things like insurance keep going up (I pay for our premiums).

[trotsky]

6. Misleading stats.

The "average" income in this country is pretty good too - because the incredible amount of wealth the top 1% brings in is skewing the stats.

A better indicator for this kind of information is the median. Take the values of every account in the country, line them up in a column, and pick the one right in the middle. Far more representative of what the average family has in their account.

[Cirque du So-What]

7. This story should prove to the vast majority of viewers

that CNN is full of shit. Either that or it'll inflict a national inferiority complex upon its viewership.

[justabob]

23. no kidding

I wish I had even 10% of that amount in any account right now.

[stevenleser]

56. Why? They are probably exactly right. The problem is the mean isnt what should be looked at.

What we need is the median.

[seabeyond]

8. 5k can go pretty quickly. but depends on all the other accounts holding $. nt

[Atman]

15. Of course it can, especially if it's all you have.

I think most people tend to use their checking accounts to pay bills and expenses, and don't carry that kind of a balance. My account balance spikes considerably every two weeks when my payroll direct deposit hits, but it's quite a bit less a week and a half later. My wife's account might be closer to that average, though, since she gets 50% of my paycheck plus 100% of her own -- but then she gets to pay the bills.

[HereSince1628]

9. I've kept my checking balance low to limit my exposure

to debit card hacking more than any other reason.

[htuttle]

10. Three homeless guys and Bill Gates get into an elevator...

The 'average' income of the elevator riders would be over $250 million per year.

[marmar]

13. Exactly.

nt

[eppur_se_muova]

95. No, you have to word it as "the average elevator rider" ...

has over $250 million in income.

There IS no "average elevator rider". Shame on journos!

[safeinOhio]

11. If you include money market accounts

that can be drawn on with a check, yes I have 2 of the 4 accounts that I have access to.

[TBF]

14. Why would you keep that much in checking?

We only keep what we need for household expenses in our checking accounts (my spouse and I each have one of those) - our savings is in a money market with higher interest rates.

Edited after reading the response above - if you count money market than yes we keep more than that. I just think of that as our "savings account" and believe me it is not at BOA.

[LiberalEsto]

16. Hah!

Don't make me laugh.

[Imajika]

17. Big banks really don't care if small depositers leave...

I worked for one for a long time, the big banks consider those accounts a big fat losers and couldn't care less if they go elsewhere.

The large banks do like new accounts from young people because they feel as those youth finish college, get jobs, etc, they will become larger dollar customers - but once someone proves they keep limited funds in the bank for a long period of time they'd rather those accounts just go elsewhere.

Additionally, taking your money to a smaller bank really doesn't solve the problem. Small banks literally exist to be bought. That is usually why they are created in the first place. The big banks would rather just buy them out to obtain the deposit base, close out all the low performing accounts, fire all the new redundant employees and move on.

Moving money to a credit union is really a better idea if you can find a good one.

[KharmaTrain]

26. The "Dirty Secret"...

I had a Bank VP once tell me that unless you had $250gs in his bank, you didn't matter.

[Imajika]

48. Nah, that isn't really true...

If you have a relatively average amount of money in the bank but get credit cards (and keep balances on them), equity loans, etc, through the bank they really do want your business.

What banks do NOT want is customers that ONLY have small amounts of cash in checking or savings accounts and nothing else. From the bank point of view, those types of accounts are net losers. It is kinda like how many banks are trying to get rid of customers who pay off their credit card each month. Unless they charge an annual fee, they really don't make any money on those types of consumer credit accounts.

[RobinA]

103. Well..

We certainly matter when it comes to them collecting fees for anything and everything.

[hobbit709]

18. I have more money in my wallet than I have in my checking account.

And it isn't enough to brag about.
Hell, I have more money in my change bucket than I have in my checking account.

[Cid_B]

19. That is right about my minimum...

If it drops below that something is wrong...

[Hassin Bin Sober]

57. That's because you are a Captain of Industry.

[Cid_B]

73. Maybe I should add it to my business card?

Of course that means I should get a business card period..

Hmm...

[Turbineguy]

20. They can lend out

$20,000 and sell $250,000 in CDS's against it.

[Atman]

21. See post #14.

:shrug:

[Horse with no Name]

22. I don't believe this propaganda.

It is engineered swill.

[stevenleser]

27. No, it is probably correct. It is an artifact of the disparity of wealth that the mean is skewed

When you have massive outliers in data, you get averages that are not meaningful. If, however, we looked at the median checking account balance, it would probably be $200.

[rurallib]

24. On average, me and Warren Buffet have $20 billion

[stevenleser]

28. Exactly, that is what is going on here. We 99% are averaged with the 1% and the result is skewed nt

[dmallind]

45. Not, I suspect, in checking however. nt

[lunatica]

30. After my bills are paid my average is a couple of hundred dollars in a good month

If I don't have an emergency expenditure like getting my car's brakes fixed or eating I'm swimming in wealth.

:sarcasm:

[Liberal In Texas]

31. So Bill Gates walks into a bar...

and the average income of the patrons goes from $20K per year to several million.

Averages don't mean anything. Most people have no concept of how much money these 1%ers have, and if you factor it in to come up with some "average" the number is almost meaningless.

$5K for the rich is walking around money.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

32. Man, my account is ZERO!!!

[Proud Liberal Dem]

33. Wow!

I would love to have that much(or more) in my checking acct at any given time! Gimme!

[Ship of Fools]

34. I used to have 10K on hand at all times. It was my zero sum.

Now I'm lucky to have 200 bucks. LOL, MSM.

[Shagbark Hickory]

35. Yes. n/t

[teenagebambam]

36. Not even in checking and savings combined :(

[dembotoz]

37. once again i remain below average

i must be a slacker too....

[kickysnana]

38. Dicrect Deposit Social Security can do charge backs...

quickly with no notice and in error. Happened twice in our building in the last two years. Most people in this situation only keep enough so as not to overdraw the account accidentally themselves because getting anything back from SS once they have taken it is a long shot. They can say "we find we overpaid you $120 a month for the last two years and we are taking it back." Generally you have to ask for verification and the appeal process can and does take months.

They cannot take it if your account easily if is in another bank but they may even get your savings if you use that as an overdraft cushion in the bank where your direct deposit is held.

[FarCenter]

40. It depends on how you define "checking". Does it include Money Market Funds?

MMFs pay interest and there is little advantage of moving funds to savings accounts, which may pay very little more interest.

Plus, this statistic is the mean, which is undoubtedly a lot higher than the median.

[mfcorey1]

42. This just shows how out of touch CNN is with the American public. It is more like $120.00.

Fatcat journalist.

[RegieRocker]

43. Not if you remove the 1% from the stupid statistic.

[stevenleser]

68. Which is basically what happens when you use the median instead of the mean. The outliers become

unimportant.

[dmallind]

44. ALL my non-investment cash is in checking.

With my bank, their medium and high-balance checking accounts pay more interest than their savings, so yes it's more than that.

[Rockholm]

46. Yes.

[Historic NY]

47. Pension & SS checks together maybe for a short time..

I've been trying to keep a little more in mine each month to avoid fees. I don't carry large amounts with me so I tend to use my debit card more. All my bills that are automatically deducted come from mine from utility to newspapers. If there is extra it goes toward the tax bill months which are here now. They certainly can't be getting much interest.

[ceile]

49. That's funny!

CNN continues to live in the real world, I see.

[madmom]

50. Seems to me they are pushing 'how much this doesn't matter to them' an

awful lot. I've heard/read several stories about how they would rather the smaller accounts go somewhere else etc etc. I think they doth protest to much?

[Beacool]

51. The average checking account where, Palm Beach?

I don't think that most people have over $5K in their checking account. Why leave that much money there where there are other sources that provide more interest?

:D

[onecent]

52. No I don't have $5,000 in checking nor do ANY of my

friends or relatives that I can think of...most live paycheck to paycheck because they have bills, a mortgage, utilities, gas, groceries and kids
and almost everyone I know (have taken hits with perks and changes in pay scales or changes in copays for medical.)

I am a senior citizen..and have been blessed with SS and a pension and medicare...and expected it...and it is so difficult for me to watch
what is happening in America. For my children and my grandchildren and anyone under 55 at the present time.

[Capitalocracy]

53. Not only do I not usually have $5,200 in my bank account...

I've never had $5,200 in my bank account.

[mopinko]

54. a lot of them require a balance

of a couple k in order to pay interest or avoid fees. i suspect that would account for most of that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

55. Nope

But the average is pulled up by the 1%. We even saw an ATM receipt with a six figure here.

[Xithras]

58. Is that averaged over the month? Peak? Minimum?

My wife and I both get paid monthly, and we DO have over $5,200 in our checking account on the first after the direct deposits go through. On the 29th? Nowhere NEAR $5,200 is left. It's usually more like $200.

So, are they saying that the average checking account has an average daily balance of $5,200, meaning that it spends half its time ABOVE $5,200?

Are they saying that the average checking account peaks at $5,200 at least once each month?

Or are they saying that the average checking account never dips below $5,200?

Those are three very different possibilities. The first is possible (but unlikely), the second is entirely reasonable, and the third...well, I wouldn't believe that without reviewing some verifiable source data.

[RebelOne]

59. Nope. My balance as of right now in my checking is $2,500.

And that is before I have to pay all the bills that are due.

[Enrique]

60. remember they found that one guy's ATM receipt?

I think it was in the Hamptons, someone posted on a website some rich guy's checking balance, it was something ridiculous like tens of millions.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

61. Seems high.

I have $37.92 in my bank account right now. And less than fifty in the other two. So, yeah. That's high to me.

[stevenleser]

67. Not if you understand basic statistics and the fact that we have a wealth desparity issue in this

country.

If I have $1 million in my checking account, and you and 99 other people have $1. The average checking account balance for all 100 of us is $10,000.99, while the Median is $1.

When you have wildly divergant data with a lot of outliers (outliers means values far out of range of most of the others) the average/mean becomes skewed and the Median becomes a much better descriptor of the majority of the group.

[Liberal_in_LA]

62. 1 person has 100,000 balance, 19 others have $100, average = $5,095

[stevenleser]

63. Yes, while the Median in your example is $100. The person with $100K represents the top 5% in your

example

[Blue_Tires]

65. I want THAT checking account....

[baldguy]

69. FDIC insures up to $250K per account per bank.

So, Mr Onepercent can have an account under his own name, and one under Mrs Onepercent, and one for Junior Onepercent. Then they can have combinations: Mr & Mrs, Mr & Jr, Mrs & Jr and Mr, Mrs & Jr together. That's 7 accounts for $1,750,000 total insured deposits. And he can do that at each bank he comes across.

And for every Mr Onepercent, there can be 336 accounts with a zero average balance. Even if we assume the 99% only have $100 in their account, an average of $5200 means there could be 342.

This just goes to show that the rich are REALLY, REALLY, REALLY rich, and everyone else - including the so-called "upper" and "middle" classes - are REALLY, REALLY, REALLY poor in comparison. If you aren't making $1 mill per year you might as well be a minimum wage slave at McD's for all the power you have.

[dems_rightnow]

85. That's just not true

An individual gets ONE $250,000 insurance coverage for a single accounts, and a second for joint accounts. More joint accounts with other holders doesn't get more insurance.

[baldguy]

86. Yes, they do.

"The FDIC provides separate insurance coverage for funds depositors may have in different categories of legal ownership. The FDIC refers to these different categories as “ownership categories.” This means that a bank customer who has multiple accounts may qualify for more than $250,000 in insurance coverage if the customer’s funds are deposited in different ownership categories and the requirements for each ownership category are met."

You can try it yourself:
https://www.fdic.gov/edie/calculator.html

[dems_rightnow]

89. Dude, c'mon

That's because you've flagged the accounts as having unlimited coverage. It's true that non-interest bearing accounts have temporary unlimited coverage.

[baldguy]

90. Hate to tell you, but most checking accounts in America are non-interest bearing accounts.

[ieoeja]

70. I currently do.

I am doing quite well, actually. But I still have to work for a living.

I hit an article on Yahoo! Finances this morning telling people how to cut their taxes. It was absolutely disgusting with "if you're like most people, you probably have at least a few hundred thousands dollars invested in...". So f'ing out of touch.

[RainDog]

71. the best reason to switch is to put your money to work in your local community

if you are too small for a bank to care about, why bank there?

[ribrepin]

74. I have more than that in my credit union

But who keeps a running $5200.00 balance in checking? It better off in savings or some other account.

[dionysus]

76. remember, when you avergare richie rich's account into that, the number looks bigger.

[Blue_In_AK]

77. Nope, nowhere near.

I have about $200 in mine now to last until the end of the month. Even combining my checking account with my husband's we don't have that much.

This "average" must include the checking accounts of those 1% folks.

[ParkieDem]

78. Average, maybe. Median, no.

I think I remember learning in a banking course that the median checking account amount in the US is something like $20. There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dinky little accounts that no one has bothered to close.

[barbtries]

79. pretty much no.

pockets of exceptions.

oh, yeah: no savings.

[quaker bill]

80. On occasion

But I bank at a CU where checking is free and pays interest.

[Johonny]

81. Yeah but don't they pay most of the bank fees

while those with large balances don't pay fees. If you want earnings to help overcome your bad investments you want a lot of low checking accounts that will collect overdraft fees.

[trackfan]

82. Mine seldom gets to four figures.

A couple times this year it's been below a dollar.

[UpInArms]

83. what a joke! guess they were working out of the average

where Bill Gates had his checking account

[notadmblnd]

84. No, even back when I was in a better economic situation

I didn't keep 5200.00 in my checking account.

[slor]

87. I am happy when I have...

$520 in my acct. And that is rare. $5200...I wish!

[Oldtimeralso]

88. It is close to my balance...

only if you move the decimal place two places to the left!

[sarcasmo]

91. It would be nice if we had 5200 in savings.

[a la izquierda]

92. Nope, I don't have that...

even when both my husband and I get paid on the same day. If he got a monthly check, then yes, we'd have that...for about 2 hours until we pay all our bills.
:(

[66 dmhlt]

93. Would a LINK be too much to ask?

[Atman]

100. Would typing CNN.com be so difficult?

You do realize that CNN is a television station, right? Not everything comes with a link. :eyes:

[truebrit71]

96. hahahahahahaha!!!

Oh wait...they were being serious?? :crazy:

[marlakay]

97. Wow I am lucky at end of month

to have $100. We are retired and on tight budget….

[erodriguez]

101. Maybe I'm the in the minority here. But $5K doesn't seem like a lot of money

Maybe I'm skewed because I live in NYC. 5k here is about two three months worth of expenses.

[Vinca]

102. I don't remember the last time I had $5,200 in the checking account.

Whenever I do it's been transferred there on its way to paying a big bill.

[rox63]

104. Nope - I wish!

Not even close. I've got a few hundred, at most.