Can you cover an unexpected $400 expense?

[madoka]

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/3...mericans-cant-cover-an-unexpected-400-expense

About 40 percent of adult Americans would not be able to cover an unexpected $400 expense without selling a personal item or borrowing money, according to a new survey of U.S. households.

A survey by the Federal Reserve finds that four in ten Americans "would either not be able to cover [an unexpected expense] or would cover it by selling something or borrowing money."

That figure has improved from last year, the survey notes, when 50 percent of Americans said they would be unable to cover a surprise expenditure.

Other data in the survey found that more than 25 percent of U.S. adults avoided medical care in 2017 due to fears about unwanted costs.

In addition, "over one-fifth of adults are not able to pay all of their current month’s bills in full," the survey continues.

 

[Mayne]

I really can't..i'm still recovering from my smashed monitor and computer. It's sad, but i'm a poor fucker just trying to make things work.

 

[ultimatebob]

What I wanna know is how much money the OP has in HIS emergency fund... or if he spent it all on the McLaren.

 

[lxskllr]

I've got some money. Not an ATOT millionaire, but I can manage expenses.

 

[Mayne]

you guys need to start a gofundme for me lol

 

[pcgeek11]

If you are working and over the age of 25 you should be able to cover 400 with ease.

I could cover tens of thousands with ease, but I am older...

 

[dasherHampton]

Crazy.

I didn't even know about the concept of an emergency fund when I went to college but I still scrimped and saved all I could until I had $1000 in my checking account. I then started my account balance at $0 and let it grow from there.

Whenever I had to dip into the $1000 I treated it like a loan and didn't spend on anything until I had it "paid back".

 

[Mayne]

I hate how most of you were brought up right and figured it out insteading of wasting 25 years of your life. So jelly.

 

[Thebobo]

If you own a house you better be prepared to.

 

[Fenixgoon]

love the descriptions for 4k and 40k

 

[brianmanahan]

i could stop working for 15-20 years and probably be ok

 

[mrblotto]

I've got enough to cover $4000, but I'm still upping my 401k every year. The wife can't spend it if it's not in the paycheck lol

 

[skull]

I feel broke if I have less than 10k in checking, I don't understand how 40% of Americans even live. Its not like I even make that much money, life is not that hard don't go in to debt for shiny things and don't waste money on anything thing but necessities unless you have it to spare.

 

[RLGL]

I feel broke if I have less than 10k in checking

+1

 

[IBMJunkman]

$400 is my pocket money. And I am retired!

 

[ch33zw1z]

Yes, we save all my OT, and wife's paycheck goes in savings

 

[Exterous]

I'm assuming 30 days to get the money? And does selling bond funds or money market shares count or are we talking straight cash?

 

[Zeze]

Wife and I put together $40K if we tried.

 

[AdamK47]

$40,000 would require me to shift some things around between a couple of my bank accounts. It's very much doable.

 

[MrSquished]

I feel broke if I have less than 10k in checking, I don't understand how 40% of Americans even live. Its not like I even make that much money, life is not that hard don't go in to debt for shiny things and don't waste money on anything thing but necessities unless you have it to spare.

That's the American way of life. Shiny thing consumer capitalism. The entire system is predicated upon the creation of want and need for stuff. I studied that shit in college in a few marketing courses and I still fall victim to it. They start training us at a very young age.

 

[ultimatebob]

I don't think that I could do a $40K emergency without racking up some credit card debt or dipping into my IRA. I just don't keep that much liquid cash in my bank account, since the interest rates on them suck.

Now, Zeze on the other hand could probably pay that off in a day without making a serious dent in his vast crypto holdings

 

[Red Squirrel]

I can, probably with the credit line, but I can. Then next few pays I should be able to pay it off. Basically my credit line is my overdraft or pay day advance money. I never understood the point of those pay day advance services because a credit line is so easy to get and WAY lower interest. I try not to keep a balance on it though. Because costs of living keep going up I'm at a point now where I don't have that much money left over by the time all the bills are paid though. I have a few hundred bucks extra at the end of the month. Though there are some expenses I could reduce a bit, such as charity donations, and I could lower my mortgage payment but I try to not touch that. I only will when costs of living hit a point where I'm actually in the hole each month. Then the first thing to go would be charity stuff. Though I have to watch that since it could mean I end up paying taxes at the end of the year, instead of getting a return. I rather money go to charity than to the tax man.

 

[KeithTalent]

$400 Canadian?

KT

 

[Matthiasa]

While all of those are coverable, i would be pissed to have a 40k unexpected expense. Not even sure what would cause that as even medical would hit max out of pocket before that.

 

[highland145]

I've got some money. Not an ATOT millionaire, but I can manage expenses.

Or you can eat your neighbors...and spiders.