LAS VEGAS (KSNV & MyNews3) -- Two out of three Nevadans live check to check, with no savings ready to weather a crisis. That’s the reality of a report released by the Corporation for Enterprise Development in its 2013 Assets & Opportunity Scoreboard. News 3's Sandra Gonzalez has the story.
Ylonda Dickerson juggles jobs and the checks fluctuate. The only thing she can count on is the cost of living rising.
“Everything is going up instead of your paycheck so it is a struggle to try to maintain and pay your bills and just try to live,” Dickerson said.
She does try to save but it’s not easy.
“There's always those unforeseen circumstances that occur and then it wipes your savings completely out,” Dickerson said.
At least she has a savings. The report issued by the CFED says Nevada ranks last for overall financial stability and that many Nevadans have almost no savings if they lost a job or if a crisis came up.
Nevadans have subprime credit and are second in the nation at 68 precent.
We lead the nation in under banked households at 32 percent with families that turn to loan stores and pawn shops.
And while some of this stems from the recession, a lot of it stems from a lack of responsibility according to Michele Johnson of the Financial Guidance Center.
“It's a matter of discipline and discipline is something that many of us lack,” Johnson said.
There are little things you can do to get things back on track such as: reworking your cell and cable bills, and perhaps increasing your deductible on your car insurance.
Johnson also suggests giving up that $5 cup of coffee and putting that $5 bill instead into a savings account every week to kick start a savings account.
“You put that money each week into a savings. When you do have an emergency; you have a flat tire, and you need a $100 for a tire, it doesn't blow your entire month's budget because you go to that savings account that was specifically set up for that purpose,” Johnson said.
Starting to save is only the beginning, but clearing debt is vital too. But strict small steps can help Nevadans like Ylonda Dickerson stay afloat and get ahead.
