A Fragile Balance: Emergency Savings and Liquid Resources for Low-Income Consumers

Front Matter....Pages i-x
Paying for the Unexpected: Making the Case for a New Generation of Strategies to Boost Emergency Savings, Affording Contingencies, and Liquid Resources for Low-Income Families....Pages 1-15
Liquid Savings Patterns and Credit Usage among the Poor....Pages 17-37
Upside Down: The Failure of Federal Tax Policies to Support Emergency Savings....Pages 39-53
Save at Home: Building Emergency Savings One Mortgage Payment at a Time....Pages 55-74
The SaveUSA Coalition: Using Behavioral Economics to Build Unrestricted Savings at Tax Time....Pages 75-86
Refund to Savings: Creating Contingency Savings at Tax Time....Pages 87-106
Enhancing Financial Capability: TANF Bank Accounts....Pages 107-123
Building Emergency Savings through “Impulse Saving”....Pages 125-140
Prosperity SmartSave Card: An Incentivized Emergency Savings Strategy....Pages 141-152
Accelerating Savings among Low-Income Households....Pages 153-174
Start2Save: Helping Working Families Meet Unexpected Expenses and Opportunities....Pages 175-191
Incorporating Savings into the Debt Management Plan....Pages 193-200
Who Said Pigs Can’t Fly? A Learner- Centered Approach to Emergency Savings....Pages 201-211
Epilogue: Emergency Savings as a Central Component of Family Financial Security....Pages 213-219
Back Matter....Pages 221-234