Surveys show that more and more Americans, especially younger Americans, do not have basic money management skills.
Personal savings rate is ok at about 7.5% of DPI (disposable personal income). https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT
Personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income (DPI), frequently referred to as “the personal saving rate,” is calculated as the ratio of personal saving to DPI. Personal saving is equal to personal income less personal outlays and personal taxes; it may generally be viewed as the portion of personal income that is used either to provide funds to capital markets or to invest in real assets such as residences.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT
Here’s a dashboard of a bunch of indicators. Empty rental units at a low, consumer debt as percent of income, health expenditures (ever increasing), civilian labor force participation (more people are retiring), GDP, household debt to GDP, student loans outstanding, and more. https://research.stlouisfed.org/useraccount/dashboard/6193
Survey: 40% of Americans do not have the cash to cover a $1000 emergency. https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/financial-security-january-2019/
A Federal Reserve survey stays 40% of Americans do not have $400 for an emergency. 25% have no retirement savings or pension at all. Story: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/22/fed-survey-40-percent-of-adults-cant-cover-400-emergency-expense.html Survey: https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2017-report-economic-well-being-us-households-201805.pdf
Only 24% of Millennials show basic financial skills but 69% rated their money skills as high. https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/saving-budget/articles/2017-05-16/8-scary-financial-statistics-and-how-to-avoid-becoming-one The survey: http://www.nefe.org/Press-Room/News/Millennials-Gap-Between-Confidence-and-Knowledge
35% of Americans have collections in their credit file, that’s about 77 million people. http://www.urban.org/research/publication/delinquent-debt-america
Only 46% have an emergency fund according to http://www.usfinancialcapability.org/results.php?region=US#planning-ahead
Almost half of Americans say they are concerned about paying student loans back. Perhaps that has to do with their poor money management? Maybe they could take a class to help them, or just ask for help on a forum or chat room. http://gflec.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GFLEC-Brief-Student-loan-debt.pdf
Feds cut interest rates to 0-0.25%. The federal government will also buy at least $700 billion in government and mortgage-related bonds, a practice known as “quantitative easing.” The lower rates are aimed at businesses who may have cash flow problems during the Coronavirus outbreak. 99% of businesses in the US are small businesses (http://www.sbecouncil.org/about-us/facts-and-data/). https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/saving-and-budgeting/articles/what-the-federal-reserves-interest-rate-cut-means-for-consumers
