Four in 10 adults would struggle to cover an unexpected expense of $400, according to the Federal Reserve’s Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2017, released last week.
–Three in 10 adults have a family income that varies from month to month, and one in 10 experienced hardship because of monthly changes in income.
–More than one-fifth of adults are not able to pay all of their current month’s bills in full.
–More than one-fourth of adults skipped necessary medical care in 2017 due to being unable to afford the cost.
–Nearly 95 percent of all adults have a bank or credit union account. However, this varies by race and ethnicity. One in 10 blacks and Hispanics lack a bank account, and an additional 3 in 10 have an account but also utilize alternative financial services, such as money orders and check cashing services.
–One-fourth of blacks are not confident that a new credit card application for them would be approved-twice the rate among whites.
–One in five Americans knows personally knows someone who has been addicted to opioids or prescription painkillers.
