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>nearly 40 percent of Americans, a Federal Reserve report found, are in such a financially precarious state that they say they would have trouble finding $400 f

>nearly 40 percent of Americans, a Federal Reserve report found, are in such a financially precarious state that they say they would have trouble finding $400 for an unexpected expense like a car repair or a medical bill. This has got to be the most repeated statistic in reporting on hardship, but the actual responses seem way less dire: https://twitter.com/p_millerd/status/1118071142311288838?lang=en https://twitter.com/p_millerd/status/1118071142311288838?lan...

tasty_freeze 7y ago
Good on him for digging into it, but his conclusion is not much more cheery than the 40% statistic he is bashing. His conclusion: most of those 40% would be able to borrow money to cover an unexpected $400 expense, and only 14% of all people truly would be unable to meet a $400 obligation. That is still a damn scary statistic that still illustrates how close to the edge so many people live.
- crdoconnor 7y ago
  His conclusion: most of those >40% would be able to borrow money to cover an unexpected $400 expense, and only 14% of all people truly would be unable to meet a $400 obligation. That's pretty much exactly how I interpreted the original.
smaddox 7y ago
14% is still ~35 million adults. That's still a problem. And yes it's better than it was right after the global financial crisis, but this boom is not going to last forever. Our economic policies and policy makers are too busy sticking their heads in the sand.
- hn_throwaway_99 7y ago
  But honestly, even if all those people made twice as much, you'd still see millions of people unable to cover an unexpected expense (maybe not 14%, but, say, 10%). I've met more than a few people who are just mentally unable to save money. The second they get money, they spend it, regardless of the actual need.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
bachmeier 7y ago
Perhaps better is to read the comments from the person responsible for the report: https://twitter.com/Claudia_Sahm/status/1073951343608545280 https://twitter.com/Claudia_Sahm/status/1073951343608545280
sfwlsh 7y ago
Agreed, especially considering 1 in 6 millennials have $100k saved. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/05/1-in-6-millennials-have-100000-heres-how-much-you-should-have-saved.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/05/1-in-6-millennials-have-1000...
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- greenshackle2 7y ago
  Did you double-post on two different accounts?
tempsy 7y ago
Agreed, especially considering 1 in 6 millennials have $100k saved. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/05/1-in-6-millennials-have-100000-heres-how-much-you-should-have-saved.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/05/1-in-6-millennials-have-1000...
- cactus2093 7y ago
  Great, now they just need to save another $200k and they'll have the down payment on a median priced home!
  - tempsy 7y ago
    You can find places for under $1M even in sf, and you don’t necessarily need 20% down for a first time homeowner
- madengr 7y ago
  I’m guessing that is mostly 401k savings, not liquid savings, which essentially can’t be touched until 60.
  - tempsy 7y ago
    The survey says this is based on savings in bank accounts not a 401k Either way there’s nothing preventing you from “touching” 401k savings. You pay a 10% penalty.
    - madengr 7y ago
      Ha ha, there’s no way in hell I believe those numbers. This says it’s no more than $5k on average, at best. More like $2,500. https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/03/11/how-much-money-americans-have-in-their-savings-accounts-at-every-age.html https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/03/11/how-much-money-americans...
      - tempsy 7y ago
        Averages are a bad way to look at it. There are fat tails on both sides.

tasty_freeze 7y ago

Good on him for digging into it, but his conclusion is not much more cheery than the 40% statistic he is bashing. His conclusion: most of those 40% would be able to borrow money to cover an unexpected $400 expense, and only 14% of all people truly would be unable to meet a $400 obligation. That is still a damn scary statistic that still illustrates how close to the edge so many people live.

crdoconnor 7y ago
His conclusion: most of those >40% would be able to borrow money to cover an unexpected $400 expense, and only 14% of all people truly would be unable to meet a $400 obligation. That's pretty much exactly how I interpreted the original.

smaddox 7y ago

14% is still ~35 million adults. That's still a problem. And yes it's better than it was right after the global financial crisis, but this boom is not going to last forever. Our economic policies and policy makers are too busy sticking their heads in the sand.

hn_throwaway_99 7y ago
But honestly, even if all those people made twice as much, you'd still see millions of people unable to cover an unexpected expense (maybe not 14%, but, say, 10%). I've met more than a few people who are just mentally unable to save money. The second they get money, they spend it, regardless of the actual need.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

bachmeier 7y ago

Perhaps better is to read the comments from the person responsible for the report: https://twitter.com/Claudia_Sahm/status/1073951343608545280 https://twitter.com/Claudia_Sahm/status/1073951343608545280

sfwlsh 7y ago

Agreed, especially considering 1 in 6 millennials have $100k saved. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/05/1-in-6-millennials-have-100000-heres-how-much-you-should-have-saved.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/05/1-in-6-millennials-have-1000...

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
greenshackle2 7y ago
Did you double-post on two different accounts?

tempsy 7y ago

cactus2093 7y ago
Great, now they just need to save another $200k and they'll have the down payment on a median priced home!
- tempsy 7y ago
  You can find places for under $1M even in sf, and you don’t necessarily need 20% down for a first time homeowner
madengr 7y ago
I’m guessing that is mostly 401k savings, not liquid savings, which essentially can’t be touched until 60.
- tempsy 7y ago
  The survey says this is based on savings in bank accounts not a 401k Either way there’s nothing preventing you from “touching” 401k savings. You pay a 10% penalty.
  - madengr 7y ago
    Ha ha, there’s no way in hell I believe those numbers. This says it’s no more than $5k on average, at best. More like $2,500. https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/03/11/how-much-money-americans-have-in-their-savings-accounts-at-every-age.html https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/03/11/how-much-money-americans...
    - tempsy 7y ago
      Averages are a bad way to look at it. There are fat tails on both sides.