{"id":52,"date":"2024-09-06T16:45:57","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T16:45:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/financialaccounting\/chapter\/putting-it-together-personal-accounting\/"},"modified":"2024-09-13T01:46:17","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T01:46:17","slug":"putting-it-together-personal-accounting","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/financialaccounting\/chapter\/putting-it-together-personal-accounting\/","title":{"raw":"Putting It Together: Personal Accounting","rendered":"Putting It Together: Personal Accounting"},"content":{"raw":"\"A<\/a>In economically unstable times, it\u2019s common for people to assess the future. The desire is to have enough so you can stop working when you reach a certain age, pay for your child\u2019s college tuition, and have money for a vacation, a home, or a car. You\u2019re planning ahead financially, and the ultimate goal is a healthy financial future.\r\n\r\nThe knowledge you gain by studying accounting will help you in all your life\u2019s endeavors, from paying for school to buying a house to saving for retirement.\r\n\r\nIn the Varo poll mentioned at the beginning of this module, 66 percent of adults, including 71 percent of millennials, say they are stressed because they don\u2019t have a three-month emergency fund, and 46 percent say it\u2019s because they don\u2019t have any savings set aside in one to cover an unexpected expense like a job loss or medical problem.[footnote]Ruark, Hannah. \u201cVaro Money Helps Americans Improve Financial Health With High\u2011Yield Savings Accounts and SMS Alerts<\/a>.\u201d Cision PRWeb, March 8, 2018.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nOther studies have made similar points. Less than half of Americans have enough to cover a $1,000 emergency, according to a survey from financial website Bankrate,[footnote]Garcia, Adrian D. \u201cSurvey: Most Americans Wouldn't Cover A $1K Emergency With Savings<\/a>.\u201d Bankrate, January 16, 2019.[\/footnote] and in a similar survey, financial site GOBankingRates found that 69% of adults have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts, period. Nearly half have nothing saved at all.[footnote]Huddleston, Cameron. \u201cSurvey: 69% of Americans Have Less Than $1,000 in Savings<\/a>.\u201d GOBankingRates, December 16, 2019.[\/footnote] That could explain why only 61 percent of Americans reported that they could pay an unexpected expense of $400 without credit.[footnote]Federal Reserve System. \u201cReport on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2018 - May 2019<\/a>.\u201d Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, 2019.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nA Northwestern Mutual survey indicated that in 2018, 78% of respondents weren't confident that they\u2019ll have enough put away for retirement, and 75 percent of adults say it's \"not at all likely\" or only \"somewhat likely\" that they'll have access to Social Security when they retire. Even worse, 46% say that they haven\u2019t taken any action to address the issue.[footnote] \u201c1 In 3 Americans Have Less Than $5,000 In Retirement Savings<\/a>.\u201d Northwestern Mutual, May 8, 2018.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nGiven all of these statistics, it's important to start planning your own spending and saving as early as possible. In this module, you\u2019ve learned various accounting tools that can assist you with:\r\n