We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our
goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you
with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original
and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare
information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with
confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to,
American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and
Discover.
How We Make Money.
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate
us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this
site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear
within the listing categories. But this compensation does not
influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on
this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial
offers that may be available to you.
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions.
While we adhere to strict
,
this post may contain references to products from our partners.
Here’s an explanation for
Editorial Integrity
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that
we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and
reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the
right financial decisions.
Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with
accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards
in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters
thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information
you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our
advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not
receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader.
Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart
personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure
that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our
editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers,
and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So,
whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that
you’re getting credible and dependable information.
How We Make Money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have
been helping you master your money for over four decades. We
continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and
tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that
our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and
reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the
right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial
staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our
advertisers.
We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content,
competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we
make money.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher
and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for
placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking
on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation
may impact how, where and in what order products appear within
listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary
website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at
your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and
where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a
wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about
every financial or credit product or service.
Which bank should I choose?
Get personalized bank recommendations in 3 easy steps.
You’ve heard the story plenty of times. Born into poverty, a person works hard, overcomes obstacles and finds his or her way to personal finance success. It’s the classic American dream. However, how often does it actually come true?
Unfortunately, the findings from a new study from The Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit organization working to improve public policy, indicate that the rags-to-riches story may belong in the fiction aisle for the majority of poor Americans. Using data from families between 1968 to the present, the research reveals that 70 percent of children who are born into lower-class conditions never even make it to the middle class, let alone the upper tier of society. The research also underscores a continuing racial disparity in the country. Whites are twice as likely as blacks to leave the bottom rung of the ladder.
These findings are troubling, but the research does highlight which factors can make an individual’s personal-finance situation more promising. Earning a college degree and being part of a dual-earning family increase the likelihood of moving up from the bottom.
There is another very important piece of the American-dream equation. The report points out that individuals who did leave the bottom of the economic ladder had six times higher median liquid savings. Consider this statistic: Someone with $10,000 in liquid savings is 5.5 times more likely to move to the middle class than someone with just $1,000 in liquid savings.
I realize the challenge that this presents. When someone has very little money, it’s not easy to put much of that away for the future. However, there are small steps that can add up toward big payoffs down the road. Rather than working to figure out how to earn more immediately, it’s wise to determine how to spend less. Reducing expenses is a simple method to saving more.
What do you think of the research? Do you think the American dream can become a reality for poor citizens?
Share