What is the average american household and individual cash savings
amount in 2002 and/or 2003?

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 27 Mar 2004 07:10 PST

amidamaru --

In order for a researcher to give you an accurate answer to this
question I think it would help if you tell us a little more about what
you mean by "savings."

The simplest economic definition of "saving" is "income minus
consumption (i.e., goods and services)."  By that strict definition
money spent on monthly mortgage payments, for example, is included as
"savings" because it is not being spent on goods and services.  Using
this definition, the percentage of income "saved" annually by the
average individual will be much higher than if mortgage payments are
not included.

Also, the phrasing of your question ("cash savings amount") sounds
like you may not be as interested in the percentage of income saved by
the average individual and household as you are in the dollar amount
of the savings of that average person.

Can you give researchers a little better idea of what you are looking for?

markj-ga

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Clarification of Question by amidamaru-ga on 27 Mar 2004 09:27 PST

I need to refine my question. By family savings, I'm looking for cash
dollars in a checking or savings account, for example, "the average
american individual has $15,000 cash in the bank". Average american
personal "Net Worth" is also an acceptable answer.

There appears to be widely fluctuating opinions on this, ranging from
1% to 6% of earnings for both individuals and households.
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22average+american+saves%22
answerfinder-ga

I need to refine my question. By family savings, I'm looking for cash
dollars in a checking or savings account, for example, "the average
american individual has $15,000 cash in the bank". Average american
personal "Net Worth" is also an acceptable answer.

Hello amidamaru-ga,

2002 or 2003 data might be difficult to find.

You might find the answer to this previous question helpful.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=201821

Googlenut

http://www.heritage.org/Research/SocialSecurity/em864.cfm
Why Reforming Social Security Is Not About Saving the Trust Fund
by David C. John
Executive Memorandum #864
March 3, 2003 

After subtracting the debts they owe, the average American family has
savings of only about $1,000--far short of what they will need for
retirement.