4 ms·
I think this is somewhat deceiving. I'm pretty most Americans have more than $1,000 in savings, maybe in their checking accounts, their stocks, etc.
by rsmsky1 10y ago
I think this is somewhat deceiving. I'm pretty most Americans have more than $1,000 in savings, maybe in their checking accounts, their stocks, etc.
- ilaksh 10y agoI have $0 in checking, $30 in Paypal, maybe $10 in bitcoin, no house, car, almost 0 furniture. No assets. I have been working for mainly startups (including my own for no pay part of that time) or small companies for the last several years. The reason there is no savings is because there is never any extra in recent years. There have always been things I went without, like insurance or more recently a car. Or eating out hardly ever.
- madengr 10y agoDo you expect the startups to pay out? Seems sort of like waiting to win the lottery. Even if it does pay out, maybe on average you won't come out ahead compared to a 9-5 daily grind. Maybe people ought to do the opposite. Work for the risky startup during middle age when you have a cushion built up, and you are opt not to give a shit.
- kobeya 10y agoUm, off-topic but you might be making poor life choices here. First of all we're in the middle of a boom cycle and any competent engineer (which I assume you are) can get a six-figure salary WITH equity at even the earliest-stage funded startups. Second, your chances of making it big on equity alone are pitifully small. The expected returns on startup equity is less than the salary cut you take when compared with the stable job at Big Co. The median return is zero. If you were bootstrapping your own startup with only ramen profitability, I would have mad respect for you. But you say you aren't even working on your own startup right now. Wherever you are working you are likely very underpaid for what you are doing.
- quickben 10y agoBut these 'competent engineers' rocking 100k+ in this boom cycle, are not 69% of the population. If you are in the lucky minority, be honest with yourself and put money aside while it lasts. I have friends for whom it didn't.
- kobeya 10y agoNo really, by competent I mean just general competency. Like the ability to ship a product at all. Not talking about superstars or whatever.
- Johnny555 10y agoIs it deceiving? "The Fed asked respondents how they would pay for a $400 emergency. The answer: 47 percent of respondents said that either they would cover the expense by borrowing or selling something, or they would not be able to come up with the $400 at all." http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/05/my-secret-shame/476415/ http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/05/my-secre...
- pharrlax 10y agoDo stocks count as "something"?
- eli 10y agoDo many people invested heavily in the stock market not also have $400 in cash or equivalent?
- rsmsky1 10y agoMaybe they were joking, who knows. That same thing said that people making $100,000-$150,000 couldn't come up with $2,000 when asked on the street or something like that. Probably if someone asks me these questions on the street I'm not going to be honest either.
- namlem 10y agoSo 22% do have savings, just not in their savings account.
- Mikeb85 10y agoI think you underestimate the amount of people who are actually poor.