living paycheck-to-paycheck

[Rock Private Office]

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Roughly three-quarters of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck, with little to no emergency savings, according to a survey released by Bankrate.com Monday.

Fewer than one in four Americans have enough money in their savings account to cover at least six months of expenses, enough to help cushion the blow of a job loss, medical emergency or some other unexpected event, according to the survey of 1,000 adults. Meanwhile, 50% of those surveyed have less than a three-month cushion and 27% had no savings at all...

It's an important issue and is true of most people in the West I think, not just in the US.

It is fundamental for anyone that works for someone else to have at least six months of living costs available in cash at all times before even thinking about investing in anything else.

Too many people experience the unexpected and without this financial cushion things can unravel very quickly!

You can read the full article here: money.cnn.com/2013/06/24/pf/emergency-savings/index.html