tiktokers

Economists and political pundits can talk until they are blue in the face about the state of the economy. Still, one person will probably give you the best answer when asked how the average person is doing these days: your local bank teller. After all, they see people’s bank balances all day and get a good sense of when more people are struggling or doing well.

People are private about money, so it’s hard to know whether we are doing it as well as our peers. But TikToker Sarena (@SimplySarenaWellness) who posts typically about health and fitness, but works at a credit union, shared what the average person’s bank account looks like, and many folks are clearly living paycheck to paycheck.

A commenter prompted the discussion by asking Sarena: “How much do bank tellers think is a lot of money in an account? Totally understand this is subjective,” a TikToker asked.

"My personal opinion from seeing thousands and thousands of different bank accounts,” the woman said, “people who are doing pretty well financially have between $1,500 and five grand in their savings account at the credit union.”

She went on to say that people with $1500 or less in their accounts were in a precarious position. “Like anything less than like 15 [hundred] just is not enough in my opinion,” she continued. “But honestly, the majority of people didn't even have that. And the people who made our credit union their primary financial institution, most of them. Like the majority did not even have $1,000, a lot of people didn't even have $500.”

Although she stresses that she is not a financial advisor, she suggests that people with over $5,000 in a savings account consider investing their money to prevent its value from decreasing due to inflation.

In the comments, many people who work at financial institutions weren’t shocked by Sarena’s video. "I work at a bank, and 95% of people are living paycheck to paycheck," Krystal wrote. It’s funny to me that these commenters don’t seem to believe that," Sarena replied.

"15 years as a Banker here, very few people have any savings, believe it or not, most folks are living paycheck to paycheck, unfortunately," Cha-Ka added. "Yes, I agree! I worked for a credit union and it was very common for people to not have a savings at all. Most people are paycheck to paycheck," Rae-Rae added.

While it may be shocking to some that so many people are barely getting by in the wealthiest country on Earth, the bank teller’s anecdotal evidence aligns with recent studies about the country’s financial health. A study by the Federal Reserve found that only 54% of Americans have savings that could cover three months of expenses, and just 45% could cover a $400 expense with money from their checking or savings account.

Even though many Americans are far from reaching the goal, Chase Bank says that people should have 3 to 6 months of emergency savings in case they lose their jobs. The savings don’t have to be equivalent to their salary, but enough to cover basic living expenses like rent, utilities, debts, and food. It also shouldn’t include unnecessary luxuries like eating out or entertainment that can be eliminated from their budget if necessary.