PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Most Americans feel like they are falling behind on their emergency savings and few have been able to save anything if at all in 2024.
That’s according to a new survey released by Bankrate, which found that 62% of Americans think they’re falling behind on savings and one in five say they haven’t been able to save at all during the current calendar year.
Bankrate’s Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride said those surveyed cited inflation and an increase in expenses as top reasons they couldn’t save.
“Being behind on emergency savings...it's nothing new,” said McBride, “but the one thing that does persist is we're just really not seeing the needle move very much.”
McBride said establishing a habit of paying yourself first can help resolve the stress.
"Automate that as much as possible,” he said. “Set up a direct deposit from your paycheck into a dedicated savings account. If you're self-employed or freelance and you don't get a regular paycheck, you can accomplish the same thing by having an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account on a regular basis."
McBride also suggested tracking spending versus take-home pay and then saving any surplus.