Poll: Half of Americans are saving close to nothing

Legendary comedian George Carlin once did a hilarious bit about how baseball and barbecues are no longer America’s favorite pastime and now it is consumption. Buying stuff has now been considered a patriotic duty in the United States, a mantra that has been pedaled by Keynesian public officials and central bankers.

A lack of household savings is actually a real detriment to the long-term prosperity of any nation. Unfortunately, society frowns upon saving, which is why we now have artificially low interest rates that lead to pittance on any cash deposits.

Bankrate.com released a new survey Monday that suggested half of the country is saving next to nothing. That’s right: next to nothing at all.

The survey reported that about half of Americans are setting aside five percent or less of their incomes, including 18 percent that are not putting anything away for a rainy day or retirement. Only one-quarter are saving more than 10 percent of their earnings, and one in seven are putting away more than 15 percent.

Middle-class consumers are socking away more money than any other income demographic. More than one-third (35 percent) of Americans earning between $50,000 and $74,999 are saving more than 10 percent of their incomes. Meanwhile, 32 percent of individuals earning more than $75,000 are stashing 10 percent of their incomes under the mattress.

In addition, the Bankrate Financial Security Index highlighted that a lot more consumers are feeling more comfortable about their debt and financial situation when compared to the same time a year ago. Although this appears to be positive news on the surface, it could actually be a bad thing for savings.

“Between emergency savings and the ever-increasing burden of retirement savings that is on the individual, the goal should be 15% of your income. For a lot of people, it won’t happen overnight. It’s going to take some time, but it’s doable, as the middle class is showing,” said Greg McBride, the personal finance website’s chief financial analyst in an interview with CNN Money. “People get frugal fatigue, as the economy improves I think a lot of people will fall back into familiar habits … more spending, more debt, less savings.”

One solution being put forward by McBride is to set up an automatic savings account that allows consumers to immediately pay themselves first when they receive a paycheck.

Some other ideas could consist of eliminating cable, lowering a smartphone’s data plan, eating out less, drinking coffee at home and bringing lunch to work. Although this may not solve a minimum wage earner’s entire monetary problems, it’s still generates a large chunk of change at the end of the month.