Did you know… 1 in 5 Americans say that they have less than 3 weeks of cash on hand to cover expenses?
That means that more than 20% of us could be out of money by Election Day!
This has happened largely due to government stimulus programs drying up at the end of July. “At Credit Karma, we saw a number of indicators demonstrating the success of early economic relief programs,” a spokesman told FOX Business.
Unemployment numbers have climbed to record highs. Still, they found that people were either saving money or making smarter financial decisions, such as paying down debt. This was particularly true for people with lower credit scores, according to Credit Karma. They expected that group would be the most cash-strapped during the virus-fueled economic downturn.
After the first round of stimulus checks went out, Credit Karma saw that their members with credit scores below 600 had missed fewer payments and had lowered their credit card debt since the onset of the pandemic.
A Turn for the Worse Before Election Day
However, with the stimulus checks spent, and additional unemployment benefits ending in July, that picture has all changed. Credit Karma’s latest survey found that over 20% of Americans have less than three weeks of a financial runaway before ruin.
Credit Karma’s survey comes on the heels of another study published last month by SimplyWise. SimplyWise is a technology company that provides resources on Social Security and retirement. Nearly half of all workers who lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 crisis could not last a month off their savings.
These are all some sobering statistics. Congress appears increasingly unlikely to pass another round of emergency relief before Election Day on November 3.
Have you, or are you close to exhausting your savings due to the COVID-19 pandemic?