Americans are under chronic financial stress. And far too many are lacking the most versatile, low-cost and responsive first line of defense: emergency savings.
The Federal Reserve reports that 36% of households wouldn’t be able to cover a $400 emergency through savings; a Commonwealth analysis of the same Federal Reserve data reveals the problem is much worse for households making less than $60,000 (58%), particularly when they are female-led (58%), Hispanic (70%) or Black (72%).
