However American households are spending their money, many of them are left without a financial cushion. The economists Annamaria Lusardi, Daniel J. Schneider, and Peter Tufano conducted a 2011 study asking people about “their capacity to come up with $2,000 in 30 days.” Their findings are troubling. They concluded that, “Approximately one quarter of Americans report that they would certainly not be able to come up with such funds, and an additional 19% would do so by relying at least in part on pawning or selling possessions or taking payday loans. . . . [In other words, we] find that nearly
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