Almost half of Americans do not save on a regular basis, according to a survey released Monday by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc.
Americans are trying to save despite having other competing financial interests, says CFP Board. Fifty-one percent save on a monthly basis but 48 percent don’t always have enough money left over to save anything after paying bills .
“Our economy has come a long way since the depths of the recession, but most Americans up and down the socioeconomic scale are still facing significant pressures in saving for today and tomorrow,” says CFP Board Consumer Advocate Eleanor Blayney. “An inability to start saving early, debt and stagnant incomes are just a few of the factors driving Americans' financial anxiety."
The survey also showed that 35 percent of Americans have seen a significant decrease in household income in the past few years and an almost equal number (34 percent) say that debt prevents them from saving.
Thirty percent of Americans has experienced a job change in the past three years, and 20 percent has experienced a major medical expenditure.
Half of Americans believe credit card debt is the most important debt to pay off, followed by mortgages (36 percent) and student loan debt (19 percent), and 36 percent anticipate working in retirement.