That is a much better line of questioning since it avoids the arguments about what is meant by savings. Also clicking through I found it avoids the followup argument of &quot;what about credit cards&quot;? To quote the whole thing: &quot;47: The percentage of Americans who can’t pay for an unexpected $400 expense through savings or credit cards, without selling something or borrowing money, according to the Federal Reserve.&quot;<p>But there&#x27;s still a problem in that the $400 is &quot;pay immediately&quot;. The other study from the same article showed 50% of Americans could cope with a surprise $2000 bill that they had 30 days to pay, in 2009.