TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A new study by an economic advocacy group, Prosperity Now, says most Americans are one paycheck away from poverty.
According to their study, more than 1 in 10 American households fell behind in their bills in the last year, a signal that many are struggling with rising costs and stagnant incomes.
Roughly one-third of households lack basic savings accounts and fewer than 60 percent say they are putting money way for an emergency.
National trends that mirror households in our area.
People throughout South Georgia and the Big Bend area are struggling to make ends meet.
Research findings from the 2019 Prosperity Now Scorecard say financial insecurity is effecting people of every socio-economic background and that it's not just a problem of those who are considered low-income, this is a problem from middle class to those with higher income without enough savings.
The report states that 40 percent of American households lack a basic level of savings. And the data is even worse for people of color, with nearly 57 percent of households of color being liquid asset poor.
Kayeta Jackson is a father of three. For him, the stress of living paycheck to paycheck is even higher because he has to provide for his children.
"If I missed a paycheck, I would definitely be late on my bills," said Jackson. "My kids wouldn't be able to afford their after school activities and I could possibly loose day care for my young kids."
Right now, Jackson currently works two jobs to make ends meet. That's two jobs, seven days a week, know matter how he's feeling.
"I can't afford to miss a paycheck so I work when I'm sick," said Jackson. "I work when I'm sore and I rarely am able to take days off."
A concern for many locally. Not calling out sick or having healthcare, is another reason why people are nervous about missing work hours.
"Its very stressful. When you have to worry about how you're going to put food on the table its stressful," said Lee Lawson, CNC Market Research Employee. "Or how you're going to get insulin, its stressful. I don't want to be homeless."
And very much like federal employees with the recent government shutdown, any stoppage in consistent pay would be devastating.
"If I missed one paycheck like the federal workers did, I wouldn't of been able to pay my rent I would have been homeless, you just cant do it," said Lawson.
The director of applied research at Prosperity Now, adds that on a national level things have been slowly getting better.
The hope, she says, for many is that it will continue to stay that way.
