Community Chat

[lolakimono]

A while ago there was a story about how most Americans don't have what they need saved up for an emergency car repair.

When I have seen snippets of Suze O.'s show, the segment on "Can I Afford It?" is very interesting. Callers want "approval" to purchase something- sometimes relatively inexpensive and sometimes thousands of dollars. I am often surprised that she will "deny" those who have 30K in liquid savings, because they don't have enough in retirement or they have too much debt.

Since there is very little interest paid on traditional savings accounts, what do you think is a good figure to have in LIQUID savings nowadays? I know Suze likes for people to have eight months of living expenses saved in case of an emergency (job loss, death in the family, medical expenses, etc.).

And what is your view on "savings"? Do you funnel a certain amount into an account each month? Do you use it as storage while you "save" up for something? Or as a cushion in case of emergencies?

I'm not interested in having people report how much money they make or have in retirement accounts- just a discussion about your views on savings accounts and your views on what (if anything) savings is to be used for.