In December 2020, the FINRA Foundation and SaverLife published a report that looks at the impact small amounts of savings have on financial stability. SaverLife, through its online savings platform built for lower- and middle-income Americans, has an ability to analyze the financial impact of savings on its users’ housing security, utilities maintenance, and use of high-cost borrowing. They also looked at overall financial satisfaction by comparing survey answers to respondents’ three-month average daily savings balances in their SaverLife-linked accounts.
Key findings from the joint FINRA Foundation–SaverLife study include:
- Savings balances above $250 are correlated with increased housing security.
- Households that maintain a savings balance above $100 are significantly better able to keep utilities on.
- Having a savings balance above $100 is strongly correlated with avoiding high-cost borrowing.
- Maintaining a savings balance of $100+ correlates with greater likelihood of financial satisfaction in life.