50% Of Americans Live Payday-To-Payday; 33% Can't Write A $500 Emergency Check

[rcjordan]

Caution, this is zerohedge, but worth a read as this article pulls together a lot of studies & headlines I've seen over the last month or so.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-05/50-americans-live-payday-payday-33-cant-write-500-emergency-check

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http://www.fakenewschecker.com/fake-news-source/zero-hedge

[Mackin USA]

How much CASH do you have on hand in case of emergency.

Cash, not access to funds via ATM etc.

Scary to think what people would do if the system just stopped working, even for a short period of time. 

[rcjordan]

cash? 200-800, depending on whether I'm hitting CL or not.

aside:

My brother once found $30k hidden in an overhead light fixture while he was helping clean out an estate.  Good way to lose 30k, imo.

[ergophobe]

This is, AFAIK, just a regurgitation of Neal Gabler's article that made big news about a year ago
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/05/my-secret-shame/476415/

Which if I recall, was citing a study that was already a bit old at the time

[ergophobe]

Some of the "anti" fallout

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/434490/middle-class-doing-okay-no-need-gloom-doom
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/the_bills/2016/04/neal_gabler_s_atlantic_essay_is_part_of_an_old_aggravating_genre_the_sad.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-timmel/neal-gabler-is-not-a-voic_b_9802810.html


Original study was from the Federal Reserve in 2014
http://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/2014-report-economic-well-being-us-households-201505.pdf

[littleman]

If everything actually ground to a halt precious metals would probably be much more usable than cash imo.  I remember reading about a type of necklace worn in India that is made of 24k gold.  It is made with large links that can be undone by hand.  The idea is that you can remove a link to barter with and then put the remaining chain back around your neck for safe keeping.  Of course you'd have to take some safety precautions.

[littleman]

Added:  The sky is always falling at the Core.  As a group, we seem to expect the worse all the time.

I think economics works somewhat like Newtonian physics.

[Travoli]

>in case of emergency
>If everything actually ground to a halt

Cash may be worthless. Stock antibiotics, first-aid, water filters and Nicotine products to trade. Use the cash to wipe.

>As a group, we seem to expect the worse all the time.

Pessimism feels great.

[rcjordan]

>Pessimism feels great.

"An optimist is never prepared." --rcjordan

[littleman]

I guess I've known too many fat-guy-with-a-shotgun types but I feel like too much pessimism is also debilitating.

[rcjordan]

>too much pessimism is also debilitating

Can confirm.