I think we can all agree on one thing: Saving is good.
The big dilemma is how to get people to put money away for emergencies, retirement or that next tropical vacation.
Sometimes, turning spenders into savers is as easy as setting up an automatic transfer from checking to savings, or enrolling in a workplace retirement plan. Other times, it's not the desire to save that's lacking; it's the money.
Natasha Nickson, 22, hopes to open a savings account with her tax refund this year. But as the St. Paul mother of a 17-month-old can attest, the $10.75 per hour that she makes working at a nursing home doesn't stretch far.
"Every day the little expenses just pop up," she said.
A new survey of more than 1,000 Americans conducted for America Saves Week -- an annual event put on by 100-plus organizations to promote savings -- found that the less money you earn, the less likely you are to have a savings account.
Um, did we really need a survey to tell us that?
At a time when pay cuts, not pay raises, are the norm, how can Americans -- especially the working poor -- be expected to save much of anything? Even in good times, it hasn't been our national culture to sock away money.