許多美國人距離睡大街只有一步之遙

Americans are feeling better about their job securityand the economy, but most are theoretically only onepaycheck away from the street.

雖然美國人現(xiàn)在感覺就業(yè)與經(jīng)濟的狀況已經(jīng)有了好轉(zhuǎn)，但在理論上其中大多數(shù)離睡大街只有一步之遙

Approximately 62% of Americans have no emergencysavings for things such as a $1,000 emergency roomvisit or a $500 car repair, according to a new surveyof 1,000 adults by personal finance websiteBankrate.com. Faced with an emergency, they saythey would raise the money by reducing spendingelsewhere (26%), borrowing from family and/or friends (16%) or using credit cards (12%).

大約有62%的美國人沒有應(yīng)急儲蓄，而一次急診需要1000美元，一次汽車維修則需要500美元。個人理財網(wǎng)站Bankrate.com對大約1000名成年人的調(diào)查表明，在面對緊急情況是這些人中的26%會通過減少其他支出來籌集資金、其他16%會從家人或朋友借款、12%的人會使用信用卡。

 

 

"Emergency savings are not just critical for weathering an emergency, they're also importantfor successful homeownership and retirement saving," says Signe-Mary McKernan, senior fellowand economist at the Urban Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on social andeconomic policy.

Urban Institute的高級研究員麥克南說“應(yīng)急儲蓄并不僅僅對緊急事件很重要，對于養(yǎng)老以及保有自己的住房同樣非常重要”

The findings are strikingly similar to a U.S. Federal Reserve survey of more than 4,000 adultsreleased last year. "Savings are depleted for many households after the recession," it found.Among those who had savings prior to 2008, 57% said they'd used up some or all of theirsavings in the Great Recession and its aftermath. What's more, only 39% of respondentsreported having a "rainy day" fund adequate to cover three months of expenses and only 48%of respondents said that they would completely cover a hypothetical emergency expensecosting $400 without selling something or borrowing money.

美國聯(lián)邦儲備理事會去年發(fā)布的一項涉及4000多位成年人的調(diào)查表達了類似的觀點。這項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，在經(jīng)濟衰退后許多家庭的存款在減少。在2008年之前有銀行存款的家庭中，有57%的家庭說他們已經(jīng)在經(jīng)濟危機及之后的日子動用了一部分甚至全部的存款。更重要的是,只有39%的受訪者表示擁有一個“雨天”基金足以支付三個月的生活費用(譯注：雨天意思是貧困時期),只有48%的受訪者表示,他們可以在不借款或變賣家產(chǎn)的情況下迅速湊集400美元以應(yīng)付緊急情況。

Why aren't people saving? "A lot of people are in debt," says Andrew Meadows, a SanFrancisco-based producer of "Broken Eggs," a documentary about retirement. "Probably themost common types of debt are student loans and costs related to medical issues." He spentseven weeks traveling around the U.S. and interviewed over 100 people about why they haven'tsaved enough money. “People are still feeling the heat from the Great Recession." Some 44% ofsenior citizens have enough savings to cover unexpected expenses versus 33% of millennials,Bankrate.com found.

那為什么人們不存款呢?安德魯.梅多斯(Broken Eggs的制作人，一本描寫退休生活的片子)對此解釋為：“因為很多人正陷于貸款的泥潭中”。“大多數(shù)貸款是學(xué)費貸款和醫(yī)療貸款。”他花了七周時間在全美采訪了超多100多位被采訪者，以試圖了解為什么他們不能攢下足夠的儲蓄。“人們依舊感受到經(jīng)濟危機的余波。”在Bankrate.Com可以發(fā)現(xiàn)，44%的老人有足夠的存款以應(yīng)對緊急支出，與之相對的是千禧一代只有33%。

On the upside, the Bankrate survey found that 82% of Americans keep a household budget,up from 60% in 2012. Even in the age of the smartphone, most people keep a budget the old-fashioned way, either with a pen and paper (36%) or in their heads (18%). Just 26% of thosesurveyed say they use a computer program or smartphone app. "A solid majority of Americanssay they have a household budget, which is a good thing. But too few have the ability to coverexpenses outside their budget without going into debt or turning to family and friends forhelp," said Claes Bell, a banking analyst at Bankrate.com.

同樣是Bankrate.Com的研究表明，82%的美國人開始使用家庭預(yù)算來量入為出，比2012年的60%有了明顯的提高。但這些預(yù)算大多數(shù)依舊是用筆紙等老方法(36%)或僅僅是大腦里的大致想法(18%)。只有26%的受訪者表示會使用電腦程序或手機App幫助他們指定預(yù)算。Bankrate.Com的一位銀行分析師Claes Bell表示：“絕大多數(shù)美國人說他們有家庭預(yù)算是一個好現(xiàn)象，但依舊只有小部分人可以在不借貸的情況下應(yīng)付預(yù)算外的開支。”

But while the jobs market is improving and the Affordable Care Act has given an estimated 15million people access to medical care, the Great Recession does appear to have taken its toll onAmericans' finances; in fact, they're 40% poorer today than they were in 2007. The net worthof American families — that is, the difference between the values of their assets, includinghomes and investments, and liabilities — fell to $81,400 in 2013, down slightly from $82,300in 2010, but a long way off the $135,700 in 2007, according to a report released last month bythe nonprofit think tank Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C.

盡管就業(yè)情況正在改善，平價醫(yī)療法案也已經(jīng)惠及1500萬人，經(jīng)濟危機依舊在給美國人的經(jīng)濟狀況敲響了警鐘。事實上美國人的家庭凈資產(chǎn)比2007年縮水了40%。根據(jù)上個月華盛頓皮尤智庫研究中心發(fā)布一份報告，2007年時美國人的家庭凈資產(chǎn)為135700美元，2010年時為82300美元，2013年時則跌到81400美元。