Upper-middle income Americans aren’t saving much money says a report from the Federal Reserve. Only 45% of upper-middle-income Americans reported saving any money in 2012. This doesn’t come as such a surprise to anyone paying attention to the personal savings rate in America. The rate, while somewhat improved since 2005, is below its historical mean by 3.1 percentage points at only 5.3%.
Another sad statistic from the Fed report shows that 68.6% of Americans feel as though their financial well-being is about the same, worse, or much worse than in 2008. For those with cloudy memories, 2008 was the year the economy went belly-up. Again, for anyone paying attention to consumer sentiment, this isn’t so surprising. While sentiment has improved greatly from the days of deep recession, a quick look at the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey shows readings still below historical mean. That’s not the picture of a strong recovery.
Jeremy Jones, CFA
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