Can this be true??

[b4freedom]

I believe it.

Who here has a savings account? If so, I'd say dump it! Savings accounts are not dated. Go with a money market or something better.

http://www.americasaves.org/back_page/forego.cfm

[Gruntina]

I wonder also for those that are not educated in money don't bother with a savings account since they think a checking account is sufficient to put"saved" money in?

I remember a Teen saying that she wanted to drop her savings account and get a checking account in a way that "checking accounts" were for grown-ups while "savings" were for children... Sad!!

[Mathew Green]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

my guess is, they did not count minor children or people with only a few dollars in a savings account.

People who answer surveys often exagerate to make themself look good or to please the survey taker. So, if the question asked was, "Have you ever had a savings account," many people who had a tiny savings account when they were a kid, and have never had one since, will answer the question 'yes' just because they believe that is the 'socially correct' answer. (but that's just my own humbly cynical opinion )

Originally Posted by Ima saver

I would not consider them low income because we pay them $15-$18 an hour and up.

Just to clarify: In some cities, $18/hr is lower-middle class. In other cities, it's poor. I make $11.50 an hour and consider myself lower-income, but certainly not poor. It's been my experience that people at my income level or below usually 'invest' their extra money by stocking up on things they know they'll need in the future. It's their version of having an emergency fund. Likewise, many of them have never had a bank account. Those traits are also found in many middle-income people who came from lower-income families. But overall, the less money someone makes, the more likely they are to shun banks and to invest their extra money in physical possessions.

[Bluezy]

My CJ has his first savings account at our regular brick & mortar bank. His name is on the account. You should see his face when he makes a deposit. While it does not offer a good return, it's just the account to make his 529 ACH's from. So it has its uses. He doesn't need much in mad money right now, either.

[Ima saver]

Until 2 weeks ago, I had a savings account with a large sum of money. It was paying 4.14 interest for the past year. But a local bank came out with a money market paying 5.25% so I switched to that.
I still feel that $18 an hour is a large sum.

[TinyFish]

Well, it might not be relevant to the survey. I have an ING account, which I think is technically a MM account, but if someone asked me if I had a 'savings' account in a casual survey, I'd probably answer 'yes', because that is how I think of it.

I was surprised at the idea of bankless adults until I found out my brother-in-law was one. I guess it isn't so uncommon to have NO bank account at all. Sad really.

-TinyFish

[Ima saver]

I consider my MM account at a bank to be a savings account, also my ING account. I have a girlfriend who had no savings account. I am sure none of my husband's workers, ever had a savings account! These are mountain people and they don't believe in banks.

[Mathew Green]

In the course of researching this question, I came across some very interesting statistical tables on the US Census website. They have convinced me that at least 20-30% of all adult Americans probably have a savings account right now. The tables further show that even among the lower-income, lower-education, and minority groups a significant number of households do have a savings account. Mea culpa. I was wrong.

These US Census asset-ownership tables contain a lot of data, so I'll just post the links here and leave further analysis "as an exercise for curious students."

US Census: Wealth and Asset Distribution (main menu)
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/wealth/wealth.html

Clicking the "Detailed Tables" link on that page will take you to the 1993, 1995, 1998, and 2000 data tables.

To go directly to the detailed breakdown showing who owns which kinds of interest-bearing financial assets, go to this table: "Interest-Earning Asset Ownership Rates for Households, by Selected Characteristics: 2000"
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/wealt.../wlth00-3.html

For a broader view that show more categories but lumps most interest-bearing assets into a single column, go to this table: "Asset Ownership Rates for Households, by Selected Characteristics: 2000"
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/wealt.../wlth00-2.html

To see how much money each type of household has in each type of financial asset, go to "Median Value of Assets for Households, by Type of Asset Owned and Selected Characteristics: 2000"
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/wealt.../wlth00-1.html

I was greatly surprised by some of these statistics, and I trust you will find them equally interesting (or at least a good way to settle questions about who has what kinds of assets.) Enjoy.

[Mathew Green]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

I still feel that $18 an hour is a large sum.

As do I. But income levels are highly subjective and what is high- or low-income depends on the local cost of living (and vice versa).

BTW and Off Topic: You're in north Georgia aren't you? I like north Georgia and know it well. I've spent many many days in those mountains and would be there now if I weren't so well employed here.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by Ima saver

I still feel that $18 an hour is a large sum.

You're earlier post said $15-18. As I pointed out, $15/hour is only 30K/year. That's low income in my opinion. I certainly wouldn't want to be supporting a family on 30K in this part of the country. Perhaps that would go a lot farther in Georgia, but around here, it would be close to poverty level. Median income in my town is about 70K.

[Gruntina]

My income in California is concidered low income but not quite poverty level.... and that is with two jobs!!!

If I earned the same amount back home in Montana, I be well off between middle class and higher range.