Читать книгу Money Mammoth - Ted Klontz - Страница 10

When it comes to our relationship with money, we are stuck in the Stone Age.

 According to the American Psychological Association (APA), money is a significant source of stress for three out of four Americans.1

 Forty-five percent of Americans have no savings whatsoever.2

 The average person age 60 or older who does have savings has about $150,000, certainly not enough to stop working.3

 Almost 40% of American adults wouldn't be able to cover a $400 emergency with cash, savings, or a credit card charge they could quickly pay off.4

 The median American household has only $11,700 in savings.5

 Among elderly Social Security beneficiaries, 48% of married couples and 69% of unmarried persons receive 50% or more of their income from Social Security. In 2019, the average monthly Social Security retirement benefit for a new retiree was about $1,500.6

 The level of credit debt in the United States during the height of the most recent economic expansion (2019) was over $35,000.7

It's painfully obvious that the average American is in terrible financial shape. Despite the relentless barrage of information and warnings from financial experts that saving for the future is not a luxury but a necessity. In our society, people who don't save are looked down on. We blame them for being irresponsible without realizing that today's bad financial behaviors were our ancestor's essential survival behaviors.