56% of Americans can’t afford a $1,000 emergency expense: We are ‘living in a paycheck-to-paycheck nation,’ money expert says

A majority of Americans say they can’t afford a $1,000 emergency expense, a recent report from Bankrate finds.

Only 44% of Americans surveyed said they could use their savings to pay for an unexpected expense, instead opting to put it on a credit card or borrow cash from family or friends.

“The reality is that we are, unfortunately, essentially living in a paycheck-to-paycheck nation,” Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick tells CNBC Make It. “We’re a consumer-based society where people are implored on a constant basis to spend their money, and the messaging is not nearly as strong with respect to saving your money.”

Unexpected economic events that occurred in quick succession over the past five years, from the fallout over the pandemic to high inflation, have shocked the personal finances of many Americans, says Hamrick.