Charted: Who Has Savings in This Economy?

The New Diplomat
Writer

Ad

(PHOTOS) AU Names Gambari to Prestigious High-Level Eminent Persons Panel

• Receives Award at ABU's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences' reunion By Abiola Olawale The African Union (AU) has appointed eminent Scholar-Diplomat and former Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister, Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, to its elite High-Level Panel of Eminent Experts. This announcement was made known in a letter of appointment conveyed through the AU…

Trump Celebrates Intel stake, signals more government deals ahead

By Obinna Uballa United States President Donald Trump on Monday celebrated the United States government’s new 10% stake in Intel, framing it as the beginning of a strategy to boost U.S. jobs and wealth. “I will make deals like that for our Country all day long,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He dismissed critics as…

Ad

By Pallavi Rao

Two full years of inflation have taken their toll on American households. In 2023, the country’s collective credit card debt crossed $1 trillion for the first time. So who is managing to save money in the current economic environment?

We visualize the percentage of respondents to the statement “I have money leftover at the end of the month” categorized by age and education qualifications. Data is sourced from a National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) report, published last month.

The survey for NEFE was conducted from January 12-14, 2024, by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. It involved 1,222 adults aged 18+ and aimed to be representative of the U.S. population.

Older Americans Save More Than Their Younger Counterparts

General trends from this dataset indicate that as respondents get older, a higher percentage of them are able to save.

Age Always/Often Sometimes Rarely/Never
18–29 29% 33% 38%
30–44 36% 27% 37%
45–59 39% 23% 38%
Above 60 49% 28% 23%
All Adults 39% 33% 27%
Perhaps not surprisingly, those aged 60+ are the age group with the highest percentage saying they have leftover money at the end of the month. This age group spent the most time making peak earnings in their careers, are more likely to have investments, and are more likely to have paid off major expenses like a mortgage or raising a family.
The Impact of Higher Education on Earnings and Savings

Based on this survey, higher education dramatically improves one’s ability to save. Shown in the table below, those with a bachelor’s degree or higher are three times more likely to have leftover money than those without a high school diploma.

Education Always/Often Sometimes Rarely/Never
No HS Diploma 18% 26% 56%
HS Diploma 28% 33% 39%
Associate Degree 33% 31% 36%
Bachelor/Higher Degree 59% 21% 20%
All Adults 39% 33% 27%

Note: Percentages are rounded and may not sum to 100.

As the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes, earnings improve with every level of education completed.

For example, those with a high school diploma made 25% more than those without in 2022. And as the qualifications increase, the effects keep stacking.

Meanwhile, a Federal Reserve study also found that those with more education tended to make financial decisions that contributed to building wealth, of which the first step is to save.
NB: Visual Capitalist

Ad

X whatsapp