The Fed says nearly 4 in 10 Americans lack enough money to cover a $400 emergency expense

A fellow Texas CAB and TOFSC Member shared this article with me today that was featured on Fortune.com.  For those of us operating in the short term small dollar loan industry offering payday loans or auto title loans we know that having as much as $400 set aside for emergencies is damn good compared to the 18% of folks that don’t have $100.  Based on the stats quoted in the article if 37% of Americans don’t have $400+ cash reserve that comes to 123 million people, the 18% with less than $100 comes to 60 million people.  Those numbers are sobering.  With savings continuing to drop, some might say it is common sense to make sure there is growing access to credit for US consumers.  The more access to credit the better – let a wide-open market compete and let the consumers choose what works best for them in that moment.

Here’s the link to the article:

Nearly 4 in 10 Americans can’t cover a $400 expense, Fed data shows | Fortune