Two-Thirds of US Would Struggle to Cover $1,000 Crisis

Two-thirds of Americans would have difficulty coming up with the money to cover a $1,000 emergency, according to the poll conducted by Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Three-quarters of people in households making less than $50,000 a year and two-thirds of those making between $50,000 and $100,000 would have difficulty coming up with $1,000 to cover an unexpected bill. Even for the country’s wealthiest 20 percent — households making more than $100,000 a year — 38 percent say they would have at least some difficulty coming up with $1,000. Having a modest, immediately available emergency fund is recognized as critical to financial health. Families that have even a small amount of non-retirement savings, between $250 and $749, are less likely to be evicted from their homes and less likely to need public benefits, an Urban Institute study found. (ap.org)