許多美國人距離睡大街只有一步之遙

Americans are feeling better about their job security and the economy, but most are theoretically only one paycheck away from the street.

雖然美國人現在感覺就業與經濟的狀況已經有了好轉，但在理論上其中大多數離睡大街只有一步之遙

Approximately 62% of Americans have no emergency savings for things such as a $1,000 emergency room visit or a $500 car repair, according to a new survey of 1,000 adults by personal finance website . Faced with an emergency, they say they would raise the money by reducing spending elsewhere (26%), borrowing from family and/or friends (16%) or using credit cards (12%).

大約有62%的美國人沒有應急儲蓄，而一次急診需要1000美元，一次汽車維修則需要500美元。個人理財網站對大約1000名成年人的調查表明，在面對緊急情況是這些人中的26%會通過減少其他支出來籌集資金、其他16%會從家人或朋友借款、12%的人會使用信用卡。

"Emergency savings are not just critical for weathering an emergency, they're also important for successful homeownership and retirement saving," says Signe-Mary McKernan, senior fellow and economist at the Urban Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on social and economic policy.

Urban Institute的高級研究員麥克南說“應急儲蓄並不僅僅對緊急事件很重要，對於養老以及保有自己的住房同樣非常重要”

The findings are strikingly similar to a U.S. Federal Reserve survey of more than 4,000 adults released last year. "Savings are depleted for many households after the recession," it found. Among those who had savings prior to 2008, 57% said they'd used up some or all of their savings in the Great Recession and its aftermath. What's more, only 39% of respondents reported having a "rainy day" fund adequate to cover three months of expenses and only 48% of respondents said that they would completely cover a hypothetical emergency expense costing $400 without selling something or borrowing money.

美國聯邦儲備理事會去年發佈的一項涉及4000多位成年人的調查表達了類似的觀點。這項研究發現，在經濟衰退後許多家庭的存款在減少。在2008年之前有銀行存款的家庭中，有57%的家庭說他們已經在經濟危機及之後的日子動用了一部分甚至全部的存款。更重要的是,只有39%的受訪者表示擁有一個“雨天”基金足以支付三個月的生活費用（譯註：雨天意思是貧困時期）,只有48%的受訪者表示,他們可以在不借款或變賣家產的情況下迅速湊集400美元以應付緊急情況。

Why aren't people saving? "A lot of people are in debt," says Andrew Meadows, a San Francisco-based producer of "Broken Eggs," a documentary about retirement. "Probably the most common types of debt are student loans and costs related to medical issues." He spent seven weeks traveling around the U.S. and interviewed over 100 people about why they haven't saved enough money. “People are still feeling the heat from the Great Recession." Some 44% of senior citizens have enough savings to cover unexpected expenses versus 33% of millennials, found.

那爲什麼人們不存款呢?安德魯.梅多斯（Broken Eggs的製作人，一本描寫退休生活的片子）對此解釋爲：“因爲很多人正陷於貸款的泥潭中”。“大多數貸款是學費貸款和醫療貸款。”他花了七週時間在全美採訪了超多100多位被採訪者，以試圖瞭解爲什麼他們不能攢下足夠的儲蓄。“人們依舊感受到經濟危機的餘波。”在可以發現，44%的老人有足夠的存款以應對緊急支出，與之相對的是千禧一代只有33%。

On the upside, the Bankrate survey found that 82% of Americans keep a household budget, up from 60% in 2012. Even in the age of the smartphone, most people keep a budget the old-fashioned way, either with a pen and paper (36%) or in their heads (18%). Just 26% of those surveyed say they use a computer program or smartphone app. "A solid majority of Americans say they have a household budget, which is a good thing. But too few have the ability to cover expenses outside their budget without going into debt or turning to family and friends for help," said Claes Bell, a banking analyst at .

同樣是的研究表明，82%的美國人開始使用家庭預算來量入爲出，比2012年的60%有了明顯的提高。但這些預算大多數依舊是用筆紙等老方法(36%)或僅僅是大腦裏的大致想法(18%)。只有26%的受訪者表示會使用電腦程序或手機App幫助他們指定預算。的一位銀行分析師Claes Bell表示：“絕大多數美國人說他們有家庭預算是一個好現象，但依舊只有小部分人可以在不借貸的情況下應付預算外的開支。”

But while the jobs market is improving and the Affordable Care Act has given an estimated 15 million people access to medical care, the Great Recession does appear to have taken its toll on Americans' finances; in fact, they're 40% poorer today than they were in 2007. The net worth of American families — that is, the difference between the values of their assets, including homes and investments, and liabilities — fell to $81,400 in 2013, down slightly from $82,300 in 2010, but a long way off the $135,700 in 2007, according to a report released last month by the nonprofit think tank Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C.

儘管就業情況正在改善，平價醫療法案也已經惠及1500萬人，經濟危機依舊在給美國人的經濟狀況敲響了警鐘。事實上美國人的家庭淨資產比2007年縮水了40%。根據上個月華盛頓皮尤智庫研究中心發佈一份報告，2007年時美國人的家庭淨資產爲135700美元，2010年時爲82300美元，2013年時則跌到81400美元。