GOBankingRates Poll Finds 73% of Americans Can't Save Any Money

A new poll from leading personal finance websites GOBankingRates and The Penny Hoarder unearths a startling statistic: A vast majority of Americans have under $1,000 saved -- or don't have a savings account at all

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GOBankingRates

Jul 29, 2014, 01:54 ET

LOS ANGELES, July 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In the wake of a recession that should've taught Americans the importance of having emergency savings, a new GOBankingRates study conducted in partnership with The Penny Hoarder has found that nearly three out of four Americans have little or no money saved. Of 3,000 survey respondents, 44.5% reported not having a savings account, while 28.5% reported having less than $1,000 in their savings accounts.

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With personal savings rates remaining low across the country¹, GOBankingRates and The Penny Hoarder investigated why Americans are behaviorally incapable of saving money.

"There's a simple explanation for Americans' complete inability to save money; saving doesn't provide instant gratification and light up the same reward centers in the brain that activities like exercising or shopping do," said Jennifer Calonia, editorial manager for GOBankingRates.com. "To correct this handicap before it causes severe repercussions, Americans need to learn how to trick their brains into enjoying saving."

Struggling savers can create better savings habits by following these 5 offbeat tips from GOBankingRates and The Penny Hoarder.

Additional findings:

Men are better savers than women; 33 percent of men versus 24.6 percent of women have savings of at least $1,000.
The youngest and oldest age groups polled -- 18 to 24 and 65-plus -- were most likely to not have a savings account.
A person's income level is the best indicator of his savings account.

About GOBankingRates

GOBankingRates.com is a personal finance and consumer banking website that connects consumers with the best credit unions, banks and interest rates nationwide. Its editors are regularly featured on top-tier media outlets, including U.S. News & World Report, The Street, Huffington Post and more.

¹ Bureau of Economic Analysis; Personal Income and Outlays, May 2014.

About The Penny Hoarder

ThePennyHoarder.com is known by its 3 million+ monthly readers as one of the web's best resources for weird and interesting ways to save and make extra money.

Contact:

Connie Lundegard
Media Relations, GOBankingRates
[email protected]
310-297-9233x112

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SOURCE GOBankingRates