Savings
The ability to save for the future is the foundation of financial health. Yet nearly half of Americans don’t have enough savings to cover emergency expenses, from minor medical needs to car repairs. That’s why the Financial Health Network is focused on research and innovations that will enable more people to meet life’s unexpected financial challenges.
Understanding Savings and Financial Health
In our work to date on short-term savings, the Financial Health Network has uncovered several key findings:
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People who have established a regular savings habit are more likely to be financially healthy, regardless of how much they save.
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Most Americans save whenever possible, but their average amounts in liquid savings accounts are fairly low.
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Understanding demographic differences in how people save is key for designing effective savings solutions.
Data Spotlight
Why Savings Matter to Providers
By developing solutions to help more people save, financial services providers can impact the financial health of their customers. They can also ensure that savings help customers make appropriate use of other financial products, whether mortgages or retirement funds.
Financial service providers are not the only ones who should care about savings solutions, though. Employers are increasingly deploying tools like automatic paycheck deductions to make saving easier for workers, improving their financial well-being as well as workplace productivity.
How We Can Help
The Financial Health Network’s groundbreaking U.S. Financial Health Pulse offers new insights into consumer saving habits to inform effective product design. In addition, we’re working alongside industry thought leaders to build the next generation of savings products through initiatives like the Savings Project and our own Savings Working Group. Through these efforts, our goal is to help people establish a stronger safety net and a more secure financial future.
Explore All Related Research
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Short-Term Savings
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Financial Health Solutions: Targeting Small-Dollar Savings Suggestions to Low-Balance Customers
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Empowering More Women to Build Savings
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Financial Health Solutions: Boost Savings with Challenges and Empowering Messages
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How to Make Savings More Inclusive: A Look at Closing the Savings Gap | Savings Interest Group Small Group
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Webinar: Retirement Realities: Innovating to Support Aging Americans on Fixed Incomes
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Balancing Today, Building Tomorrow: How Financially Coping Americans Plan, Save, and Invest
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Financial Health Can Be So… Retro
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Credit Union Spotlight: Measuring to Improve Member Financial Health
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Simplifying Savings: Using KPIs to Track Financial Health for Credit Union Members
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Youth Finances in the U.S.: Stories of Adversity and Hope
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Redesigning the Financial Roadmap for the LMI 50+ Segment
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Preparing for Tomorrow by Fixing Today
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Amy Cox Household Profile: Living Paycheck to Paycheck
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Secured Credit Cards: Military and Veteran Service Members
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Secured Credit Cards: Rural, Underserved Communities
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Secured Credit Cards: People of Color
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Secured Credit Cards: Establishing a Path for New Immigrants
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Employee Financial Health
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Financial Health and Community College Students
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Global Financial Health Framework
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“SavingsQuest” by Doorways to Dreams
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Financial Solutions Lab Snapshot: Innovations in Helping Consumers Weather Financial Shocks
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Straight-Talk: Successful Messaging for Secured Credit Cards
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Dispatch from D.C. — September 2016 – Full Report
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Dispatch from D.C. — September 2016 Executive Summary
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Secured Credit Cards: Innovating at the Intersection of Savings and Credit
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Hidden in Plain Sight: How Secured Credit Cards Can Build Credit and Engage New Customers
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Dispatch from D.C. — March 2016 — Full Report
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Dispatch from D.C. — March 2016 — Executive Summary
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Financial Solutions Lab – Helping Americans Weather Financial Shocks
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Designing for Financial Health: Stories and profiles from the Financial Capability Innovation Funds
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“PayGoal” by Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners
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“MyBudgetCoach” by Solutions for Progress
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Dispatch from D.C. – 2016 Outlook
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Credit Cards and Financial Health
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“MyPath Savings” by MyPath
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“CollegeSet” Facebook app by Juma Ventures
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“MoneythinkMobile” by Moneythink
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Dispatch from D.C. — December 2015
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Leveraging Innovation to Support the Financial Health of LMI Families with Children
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“MAGIC Mojo” by Piggymojo
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Saving Habits and the Financially Struggling Majority
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Checking Accounts and the Financially Struggling Majority
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The Financially At Risk, a Consumer Financial Health Segment
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The Financially Unengaged, a Consumer Financial Health Segment
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The Financially Tenuous, a Consumer Financial Health Segment
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The Financially Striving, a Consumer Financial Health Segment
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Dispatch from D.C.—August 2015
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U.S. Financial Diaries: Savings Horizons
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U.S. Financial Diaries: Emergency Savings
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Mateo And Lucia Household Profile: Thriving But Still Vulnerable In The U.S.
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Consumer Financial Health Study
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Dispatch from D.C. — March 2015
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Infographic: Opportunity Fund, Start2Save, and the Journey of Product Development
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The Financial Health Network Comment Letter on FDIC Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Community Reinvestment
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U.S. Financial Diaries: An Invisible Finance Sector – How Households Use Financial Tools of Their Own Making
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The U.S. Financial Diaries Methodology: The financial lives of low-income Americans
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Annual Report 2012
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Infographic: How And Why Short-Term Savings Matter
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Bridging the Gap with Social Loans
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The Rodriguez Family Household Profile: Extended Family Strives to Get Ahead
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Rita Douglas Household Profile: Getting By With Help from Friends
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The Johnson Family Household Profile: Working Hard but Still Struggling
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The Hossains Household Profile: Adjusting to a New Life in the US
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Mike Smith Household Profile: Keeping Control by Relying on Cash
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The Adrians Household Profile: Relying on Erratic Income Sources
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H&R Block – From Tax Prep to Tax Plus
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Piggymojo: The Thrill of Impulse Savings
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Regions: Designing with a Fresh Eye: A Case Study in Meeting More Customers’ Needs
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D2D Fund: Save to Win – The Success of Prize-Linked Savings
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Plastyc: Good Banking for All
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National Community Tax Coalition (NCTC) Case Study
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Compass Principles: Savings Products Examples
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Reaching Underbanked Consumers Through Mobile Services
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The Future of Financial Services
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Making the Shift from Financial Education to Financial Capability
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Results from the Financial Health Network’s Inaugural Industry Scan
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Financial First Encounters: An Examination of the Fractured Financial Landscape Facing Youth Today
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The Impact of Innovation – MACED Learning Brief
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The Impact of Innovation – D2D Learning Brief
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The Impact of Innovation – the Financial Health Network Learning Brief Overview
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Turning Today’s Economic Inflection Point into Tomorrow’s Saving Behavior
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Employer-Based Collaboration: Lessons from Financially Fit Minnesota
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InBrief on the Underbanked Consumer Study: Characteristics of Latino Un- and Underbanked Consumers
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The Financial Health Network and Asset Funders Network – Financial Services and Asset-Building Brief
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Highlights from the 3rd Annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum
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The Financial Health Network Underbanked Consumer Study Fact Sheet
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Nonprofit Distribution of Prepaid Cards
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Distributing Prepaid Cards Through Worker Centers: A Gateway to Asset Building for Low-Income Households
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Financial Services in the Workplace: Using Intermediaries to Achieve Long-Term Value
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Expanding Financial Services to Underbanked Consumers
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Unbanked to Homeowner
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Stored Value Cards: Challenges and Opportunities for Reaching Emerging Markets
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Breaking the Savings Barrier: How the Federal Government Can Build an Inclusive Financial System
Connect With Thought Leaders
Interested in connecting with the Financial Health Network for a media interview, speaking opportunity, research or consulting request? Reach out and we’ll connect you with the right savings expert.
Additional Research Topics
Financial health depends on a complex set of factors and circumstances. That’s why the Financial Health Network produces research in a variety of areas impacting our financial lives.