If You Have $1 to Your Name, You're Ahead of 41 Million Americans

Consider this from Yahoo finance on the number of Americans who have a net worth of zero:

A post on our Berkshire Hathaway discussion board cited data from a U.S. Census table listing the distribution of household net worth in America. Shockingly, 15% of American households have a net worth of zero.

A quick check of other statistics told me that there are roughly 105 million households in the United States, recently sporting an average of 2.6 people apiece. A few calculations later, I arrived at a grand total of 41 million people living with a net worth of zero.

So, if you have a net worth of $1 or more, you're better off than 41 million Americans (or more!)

Of course that won't buy you much, but if you're one that finds comfort in knowing you're ahead of many, take this information and relax a bit.

Then tomorrow, get to saving like crazy!!! ;-)

Comments

[Dave]

People have been given all the information they need to save (Free Money Finance as an example), and those 41 million people refuse to do so.

[Keith]

Well those numbers make perfect sense, here's a few reasons why:

Not every American knows how to calculate their net worth nor do they want to.

This is also in par with the sad numbers that get released about how much people have saved for retirement, most have less than $25,000.

0 is still better than -$100,000

[BradM]

I'm part of the 41 million people, but that's going to change!
I've been out of school for 3 yrs now and have student loans and a car payment and an apartment! (the car payment is 0% and I'm buying it from my parents) Therefore I'll be part of the 15% for about another year or less!

[Minimum Wage]

Dear Dave:

Maybe some of those people are not "refusing" to save as much as they are lacking sufficient income to save?

I earn minimum wage and have student loan debt at 7% which is being reduced s-l-o-w-l-y.

How much do you think I should be saving?

[Anitra]

My net worth will continue to be negative for at least a few more years. Why? When I married my husband, our combined student loan debt was more than our yearly income - we also had a car loan and some credit card debt. It's been 3 years, and we've paid off the car, the cards, and about half of the student loan amount... but we just "bought" (ie. got a mortgage for) a house, too.

We're young, and we're moving in the right direction, so it doesn't bother me (much).

[BradM]

Dear Minimum Wage:
What about another minimum wage job temporarily or make more money with a little effort?
I quit Wal-Mart, after college, making $7.50/hr.
Another job for a year should clear your student loans so that you could put that money towards savings?
But if that is too much effort then I'm not sure there's not many people that could help you.

[J at Home Finance Freedom]

Hello. That article (more of an ad) is misleading in a number of ways:

"Besides, since about 15% of households are led by a “householder” under 30 years old, 15% of households with $0 net worth is not “shocking” (as the author asserted)."--my article today.

Thank you.

[Minimum Wage]

So really it would be useful to have an age distribution of the households without positive net worth.

I'll start, I'm a boomer with 0 (megative, really) net worth.

[Anthony]

I don't get why even financially savvy people are buying houses in a declining market? Why leverage yourself when the asset you're buying is dropping in value--as housing is currently in most of the country--especially in the formerly "hot" markets: Florida, California, NE.

Can anybody tell me why a house valued at $140,000 in 2002 should be worth $400,000 in 2007? Easy money, low interest rates, and greed. The first two stimuli have been removed, and even the greedy fools are realizing housing has never been a particularly great investment long term (mainly, just a forced savings account) and are coming to the realization we are in a housing market bust. 40% decline in prices from 2005-2011. It has happened before (California 1991-1997) and will happen again. Save your money and invest in something more worthwhile...don't pay for someone else's retirement!

[Minimum Wage]

Renting is also paying for someone else's retirement. Prices are still going up in my area, although at a slower rate, because of ongoing inmigration.

[Matt]

I would strongly suggest that if you are single and healthy and have a negative net worth due to non-mortgage debt, you should be working two jobs.

Or find a job that pays better than MW. The fast food industry pays better than MW and they have benefits. If you refuse to work there because the job sucks, don't complain about your minimum wage and mountains of debt.

[Minimum Wage]

Fast food doesn't pay more than MW around here. There is a glut of cheap labor here, fueled by twentysomethings moving in from around the country, plus illegal immigration. Also, a lot of fast food places are owned by Asians (largest minority group here) and by Hispanics (second largest local minority group) and these groups often have tight clan structures (Asians) or have historical/geographical connections (e.g. Mexicans from the same town) which allow them to do all their hiring from within, thereby avoiding any need to hire from the general public. I observed this firsthand a few years ago when I was trying to get back to work after a long illness with neurological complications.

There are usually several college grads where I work, earning minimum wage.

Also, I don't have a car and am tied up about 15-20 hours a week (all daytime weekday hours) with medical stuff, making it difficult to squeeze in a structured second job. I have a few hours here and a few hours there, but not ten-hour blocks five days a week.

I'm looking for some sort of business I can do on my own time so that I can use those few hours here and there productively.

[Dan]

of the 41 million, how many are children?