A Majority of Americans Couldn’t Handle a $1,000 Emergency

A CNN Money story this week outlined the stark reality of most Americans’ financial situation. Only 39% of respondents to a Bankrate survey said they would be able to pay for a $1,000 emergency from their savings. The same survey showed that about a third of U.S. households “had a major unplanned expense last year” with half of those emergencies costing $2,500 or more.

So how about you? If you had a $1,000 emergency next month would you have savings to cover it? Or would it have to go on a couple of credit cards and end up costing much more than $1,000 before it was paid off?

We think an emergency fund is a big part of being financially healthy. That’s why we start everyone off with a goal for $500 in emergency savings. You can read more about why we think it’s so important here.