A survey released this week from LendEDU reveals that Americans were already on shaky financial ground even before the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The personal finance website recently surveyed 1,000 Americans ages 18 and and older and found that many have credit card and student loan debt and are not saving or investing for their future fiscal security.
The survey asked if respondents were “currently investing or saving for retirement through something like a 401K, Roth IRA, or high-yield savings account.”
Fifty-seven percent said “no,” while 38 percent said “yes.” Five percent answered, “I’d rather not say.”
When asked if they have credit card accounts, 63 percent of respondents said “yes,” while 35 percent answered “no.”
Those who answered yes about having an open credit card were asked whether they were worried about paying their credit debt; 54 percent said “yes,” while just 35 percent said “no.”
Nearly a quarter of respondents said they have student loan debt, which means a large majority — 75 percent — do not, despite the high priority put on Americans in debt for college in the recent coronavirus relief bill negotiations.
Some 63 percent of respondents who do have student loans said they were worried about making their upcoming payment.
And more people still have their job compared with those who lost their job, according to the survey.
Thirty-five percent answered, “I still have my job,” while six percent said, “I lost my job,” and 13 percent said, “My hours have been partially cut.”
But a majority of respondents were worried about their job security — 57 percent of respondents answered “yes” and 36 percent of respondents said “no.”
“We found that a substantial proportion of people are worried about their job security, retirement savings, mortgage or student loan payments, and taking on too much credit card debt,” LendEDU wrote about its survey.
Respondents were almost evenly split on the question as to whether they were using savings to help them through the crisis — 44 percent said “yes,” while 47 percent said “no.”
The survey also found that the average amount of money spent on food and supplies was $335.65.
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