No one wants to think about the possibility of losing one’s livelihood. Many residents of the Miami area are included in this group. Nonetheless, it does happen. The question for people when this does happen is what to do next?
It is generally recommended that a household put away enough money so that they have enough money to pay expenses for a minimum of a six month period. The failure to have an emergency fund of this size can quickly lead to the need to file for chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy.
Perhaps not surprisingly, not everyone has put money away for a rainy day. There are a variety of reasons that people fail to do this. While some likely feel that if they don’t think about it, the day will never come, others just don’t make enough money to save the recommended amount. The latter has become even more prevalent over the course of the past few years when so many individuals lost their jobs. According to recent research, only around a quarter of the population of the United States have saved that amount.
While some have less than the recommended six months saved, a nearly half of the population do not have enough money for even three months expenses. At 49 percent, that number is up 3 percent from last year. Some may be surprised to know that 28 percent of individuals living in the U.S. do not have any money saved for emergencies.
While the numbers may seem bleak, consider this, they are actually better than they were in 2006. According to Bankrate, which provided the recent numbers as well, in 2006, the percentage of individuals living in the U.S who did not have enough money saved to cover three months’ worth of expenses was 61 percent.
For those who do not have a stash of emergency money, it is important that they realize they may still have options when facing financial hardship. A bankruptcy attorney can help determine if that is a viable option.
Source: CNN Money, “28% of Americans have no emergency savings,” Blake Ellis, June 25, 2012