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Abraham Gonzalez Fernandez | Moment | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Americans are saving less as the everyday cost of living rises<\/a> and wages struggle to keep up.<\/p>\n The personal savings rate \u2014 defined as the share of income Americans have after taxes and expenses \u2014 hit 2.6% in April, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis<\/a> released on Thursday. That\u2019s down from 3.2% in March, and 5.8% a year prior.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought 2.6% for April was a typo at first. It is so low,\u201d Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said in an email. \u201cOutside of the revenge spend era of 2022, the personal savings rate has almost never been this low in the past 65 years.\u201d<\/p>\n The April reading marks the lowest the savings rate has fallen since it hit 2.2% in June 2022 amid record-high inflation<\/a>, along with Americans having \u201cflush bank accounts\u201d from pandemic stimulus payments and being \u201ceager to spend as the nation opened up again,\u201d Long said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n