Bankrate surveyed more than 1,000 adult US citizens and found that 24 percent don't have any savings to use in an emergency situation. However, 31 percent of Americans have managed to save money, which is in fact the highest rate Bankrate has seen since it started carrying out surveys in 2011.
Meanwhile, a quarter of millennials and Generation Xers said they didn't have anything stashed away for an unexpected expense. Twenty-seven percent of young millennials said they had three to five months' worth of earnings saved, compared to only 11 percent of baby boomers who'd saved as much.
Bankrate's chief financial analyst, Greg McBride, pointed out in a statement accompanying the report that while there is a positive tendency, Americans' saving habits are far from ideal and everyone should aim to have at least six months' worth of expenses socked away for the unexpected.
"You need to make a conscious decision to save today," McBride said. "There's not a magic pill that can do that for you."
