Experts Say That These Are The Top Two Reasons People Struggle To Save Money

It’s no secret that there are an increasing amount of people in the world who struggle to save money. In fact, a new survey published on financial services website GoBankingRates, found that 69 percent of adults surveyed had less than $1000 in savings. Shockingly, the survey showed that there is no real correlation between earnings and how much money people managed to save, with nearly half of those who earned between $100,000 and $149,000 reporting savings of less than $1000.

“It doesn’t matter if they are making $30,000 per year or $300,000—people don’t seem to know how to spend less than they make,” said financial planner Michael Hardy in response to the study’s findings.

Interestingly, the reported levels of savings was also fairly consistent across age groups, with 31 percent of young millennials (18-24 year-olds) reporting that they put zero percent of their income in savings, while 33 percent of baby boomers (55-64) and seniors (65+) said that they do not save any money either.

In an attempt to make sense of the study,  Drake Baer of New York Magazine’s Science of Us spoke to Megan Ford, M.S., LMFT (licensed marriage and family therapist), a  financial therapist at the University of Georgia and the president of the Financial Therapy Association. According to Ford, there are two main reasons that people are finding it hard to save money; “shame around money” and a “spendy culture.”

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