Nearly a third of Americans struggle to make ends meet

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

About one-fifth of Americans struggle to pay for basic needs, including food, shelter, and medical care, while roughly one-third have a hard time making ends meet, according to a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The research, which took place last year, asked respondents 10 questions which were answered on a scale of 0 to 100. About one-third of Americans had financial well-being scores of 50 or below, meaning they have a high probability of not being able to make ends meet. A similar number of Americans scored above 61, which means they are unlikely to face financial hardship. The other third, of course, falls in the middle, somewhere between financial security and financial hardship. 

What is financial well-being?

"Financial well-being is a state of being wherein a person can fully meet current and ongoing financial obligations, can feel secure in their financial future and is able to make choices that allow them to enjoy life," according to the CFPB.

Differences in financial well-being do depend on income, but that's not the only, or even the most-important factor. Since a high earner can overspend, and not be in control of his or her finances, financial well-being is not driven by income. The key difference between people with positive and negative financial well-being is actually savings and financial cushions.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/nearly-a-third-of-americans-struggle-to-make-ends-meet/ar-AAszczw?li=BBnbfcN&ocid=edgsp

Nothing a few more tax cuts for the rich won't fix.

[BigmanPigman]

1. I read an article recently about how younger people in their 20s

spend a lot on coffee, Tech up-grades, etc and older people scoff at them for complaining about not being able to afford to eventually buy a home when they waste their money and do not save enough. I thought this was true myself to a degree. But the article did the math and said that the amount that could be saved by forgoing these much smaller expenses is minuscule and wouldn't amount to much compared to down payments and mortgages, child care, college tuition, etc in the long run.

[HeartachesNhangovers]

2. It's not the amount, it's the mindset.

My wife recently helped her 40+ year-old cousin try to figure out why he didn't save any money, even though he has a reasonably-good, full-time job with full benefits. One thing she found (and that shocked him) was that he spent about $300 / month on take-out coffee. Now, $300 / month is only $3,600 per year, but that's still not "minuscule".

The problem isn't the amount, it's the mindset where people spend money without knowing how much they are spending or how much it affects their lives (by not allowing them to save, and therefore not allowing them to have a down-payment for a home, etc, etc.)

[BigmanPigman]

3. Much of that is a result of how they were raised.

People who grew up during the depression and in the generation afterwards knew the value of saving money and budgeting. I guess I am showing my age. I forget who said it but there is a good saying, "watch the pennies and the dollars will watch themselves".