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How Americans spend and save

The top 3 expenditures are: 41% housing, 16% transportation, and 14% food. Americans spend 2% one education. On the savings side, 80% of Americans’ savings is in a 401(k) or IRA, 27% of Americans say they carry no debt this year, up from 23% in 2017; 45% of Americans say their top savings priority is travel. $95,766 is the average retirement savings amount across all age groups.

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The article above was provided to Synovus by eMoney Advisor, LLC, and is used here with permission from eMoney or a third party content provider. eMoney does not provide investment, tax, legal, or retirement advice or recommendations. The information presented here is not specific to any individual's personal circumstances. To the extent that this material concerns tax matters, it is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by a taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law. Each taxpayer should seek independent advice from a tax professional based on his or her individual circumstances. This information was provided for general information and educational purposes based upon publicly available information from sources believed to be reliable — we cannot assure the accuracy or completeness of these materials. The information in these materials may change at any time and without notice.

  1. A Foolish Take: How Americans spend their money. John Maxfield, The Motley Fool, published in USA Today, Sept. 30, 2017. Back
  2. Study: Average Cost of a Vacation. CreditDonkey, Oct. 8, 2018. Back
  3. Here's how American spending habits have changed over the last few decades. Jeff Desjardins, Visual Capitalist, posted in Business Insider, June 4, 2018. Back
  4. Here's how much money Americans have saved. Megan Leonhart, Makeit/CNBC, September. 3, 2018. Back
  5. Americans are getting better at saving: 58% have more money than they owe in credit card debt. Shawn M. Carter, Makeit/CNBC, February. 23, 2018. Back
  6. Here's how much money Americans have saved. Megan Leonhart, Makeit/CNBC, September. 3, 2018. Back
  7. This is the No. 1 Thing Americans Save Money For. Maurie Blackman, The Motley Fool, July 26, 2018. Back
  8. Average Retirement and Emergency Savings by Age Group. Rebecca Lake, the balance, December 12, 2018. Back