While nobody really wants to tap into their emergency savings, most Americans couldn't even afford to do so if they had to.
A stunning new Bankrate survey of 1,030 individuals finds that more than half of American adults (56%) lack sufficient savings to shoulder an unexpected $1,000 expense. Of that number, 21% said they would go into debt by financing the spending with a credit card, while 16% would steeply cut back on other spending to bridge the gap. Another 10% would borrow from family and friends, 4% would take out a personal loan, and 5% said they would do "something else."
