Nearly Half Of American Families Live On The Edge Of Financial Ruin

In the past few years, Americans have learned a thing or two about how quickly disaster can strike.
And with each Hurricane Sandy, housing crisis, and stock market crash that rocks our world, we're faced with the realization that many of us simply aren't prepared for the worst.
A sobering new report by the  Corporation for Enterprise Development shows nearly half of U.S. households (132.1 million people) don't have enough savings to weather emergencies, or finance long-term needs like college tuition, health care and housing. 

According to the Assets & Opportunity Scorecard, these people wouldn't last three months if their income was suddenly depleted. More than 30 percent don't even have a savings account, and another 8 percent don't bank at all.
We're not just talking about people who living people the poverty line, either. Plenty of the middle class have joined the ranks of the "working poor," struggling right alongside families scraping by on food stamps and other forms of public assistance.
More than one-quarter of households earning $55,465-$90,000 annually have less than three months of savings.
And another quarter of households are considered net worth asset poor, "meaning that the few assets they have, such as a savings account or durable assets like a home, business or car, are overwhelmed by their debts," the study says.  (more)

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