A third of Americans have more credit card debt than emergency savings, poll finds
A third of Americans have more credit card debt than emergency savings, poll finds
A third of Americans have more credit card debt than emergency savings, according to a new poll commissioned by Bankrate. That number has actually improved a bit compared to the last two years, but it’s a sign that higher prices are still weighing on many household budgets.
Bankrate has measured this balance between credit card debt and emergency savings since 2011. For years, it didn’t change all that much, according to Greg McBride, Bankrate’s chief financial analyst.
But then, a few years ago, “inflation really picked up,” he said. “And all of a sudden, the percentage of households with more credit card debt than emergency savings that really picked up as well.”
This year, McBride said that it appears households are making a bit of progress adding to their savings.
But a different category ticked up in the poll, noted Rice University assistant professor of finance Benedict Guttman-Kenney: those who said they have no credit card debt and no savings.
“So it’s not, not as clear that people are in, like, a massively better financial situation than they were a year ago,” he said.
And with more potential tariffs on the way from the Trump administration, it’s hard to tell if and when consumers might see higher prices, he added.
“If they don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or even next week, next month, then it becomes far more difficult to work out, ‘Well, how much should I be saving now? How much should I be spending?'” Guttman-Kenney said.
Higher debt levels aren’t all bad. For some households, it might actually be a sign of financial confidence, per Steven Blitz, chief U.S. economist at TS Lombard: “You’re willing to run a high balance because you feel like you’re going to get the income down the line to pay it down or to carry it.”
American households, he added, are in pretty good financial shape right now if you look at the population overall.
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