Overspending or spending more than one earns, is a path to financial instability. Depending upon which survey you read, anywhere between 42% and 63% of Americans spend more than they earn. This occurs at all income levels.
For those who are not spending more than they earn, Americans were saving only 7.6% of their income in 2019. Certainly not enough to sustain themselves should there be a change in their lifestyle, such as a child going to college, losing one’s job, moving to a bigger home, divorce, death of a spouse, supporting another family member such as a parent or an adult child, or retiring.