$100 for a rainy day- how many possess it?

$100 dollars..    What can it buy nowadays?

A week or so of food to feed the family?

Perhaps a full tank and a half of gasoline?

Or one night's stay at the local Days Inn or EconoLodge with just enough change left over to get some breakfast at the local Denny's or Waffle House?

So what is $100 anyways?

Well.. for many, many people making $30k or less per year, $100 or less equals the total nest-egg life savings they possess for emergencies and/or the unexpected.

The -loanshark  Quickie Loan company CashNetUSA did a poll of 1000 Americans of different genders, age groups, and economic strata and asked, "If you needed to cover an emergency expense within one day, how much in savings would you have available to you?"

Here's some of the findings based on this representative poll:

Note: The statistical numbers will not add up to a perfect 100%.  It may be less or more because it was not 1000 people polled possessing $100 or less in savings and finding out their categorical breakdown, but rather 'Of 1000 people in Total' then broken down into a particular categories, one being what percentage possessed $100 or less...'

Salary:       Under $30k/yr   ---  50.2%
                    $30k - $49k     ---  25.0%
                    $50k - $74k     ---  16.9%
                          $75k+        ---    7.7%

Age:       Under 30 years old  ---   30.7%
               30-39 years old      ---   27.3%
               40-49 years old      ---   29.6%
               50-59 years old      ---   13.1%
                    60+ up               ---   14.1%

Gender:      Males   ---  22.7%
                Females  ---  22.9%

Children under 18:      Have children under 18   ---  28.3%
                                     No children under 18     ---  20.4%

~ Now the survey didn't solely focus on those possessing less than $100 in available emergency funds. They also asked the 1000 random respondents how many possessed $800 or more to be available immediately?

Here's how they responded:

Salary:       Under $30k/yr   ---   27.0%
                    $30k - $49k     ---   34.7%
                    $50k - $74k     ---   54.1%
                          $75k+        ---   79.3%

Age:       Under 30 years old  ---   35.3%
               30-39 years old      ---   47.5%
               40-49 years old      ---   47.0%
               50-59 years old      ---   68.8%
                    60+ up               ---   69.4%

Gender:      Males   ---  55.3%
                Females  ---  52.2%

Children under 18:      Have children under 18   ---  44.6%
                                     No children under 18     ---  57.8%

So what does one take from that survey?

1)  Its good to see the figures of those with $800 or more available to them at around or over 50% but when one looks at picture of those possessing less than $100, it's more clear than ever that there are two Americas.

2)  The only way most people can survive and maintain any standard of living, even that most basic, is through debt.  Credit card debt in particular.  Wages aren't enough...  Government subsidies i.e. welfare, food stamps, etc is not enough..

3) The more one makes, the more one can save; the more wages become depressed, the harder it is to survive... obvious, yes...  That's what happens in an economy that is not, nor has been in a 'recovery'

4)  Of all the various age demographics surveys, the elderly are overall most prepared for unexpected emergencies; the younger age groups are still spending more $$ on things they don't need to keep up with the 'Joneses'...