This is from today's New York Times:
"Forty-four percent of employees live paycheck to paycheck, according to a survey conducted by MetLife in late 2007, and 48 percent of American households have less than $5,000 in liquid assets according to Edward Wolff, an economist specializing in the study of poverty and income distribution at New York University."
In other words... about half of Americans... every other American... at any given moment... have money enough to cover expenses for about one (1) single month ahead.
See full article...