America Saves Week: Assess Your Savings

February 25th, 2016

Like your health, it is important to assess your savings annually to make sure you are saving adequately for all the right things, including unexpected emergencies. However, this is considerably more difficult for Mid South residents, most of whom live on the brink of a financial disaster.

Liquid Asset Poverty measures the number of households without a basic personal safety net. These households do not have enough “liquid” savings (i.e., cash, retirement savings, checking account, etc.) needed for a household to get by for just three months if faced with an unexpected emergency that left them without a stable income. Approximately 53 percent of households in the Mid South do not have a basic personal safety net to weather emergencies compared to only 43.5 percent of all U.S. households. Mississippi has the second highest rate (61.9 percent) in the nation, followed closely by Arkansas (6^th highest), Tennessee (8^th highest), and Louisiana (9^th highest) (See Chart). (Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, 2016).

Households with savings are better prepared to weather financial setbacks and save for future needs, such as a child’s college education or homeownership, as well as have long-term financial security.

Use the Liquid Asset Poverty Calculator to determine how much savings your household would need to weather a financial crisis.

This week Hope Policy Institute will be blogging about America Saves Week and the issues that Mid South communities face on the #PolicyMatters blog. This week is America Saves Week – a national effort that encourages Americans to set a savings goal, make a savings plan, and save automatically. Like us Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay informed!

Source:

Corporation for Enterprise Development. (2016). Assets and Opportunity Scorecard, 2016. Retrieved from http://assetsandopportunity.org/scorecard/