Patterns And
Determinants Of Low-Income Family Saving
Youngae Lee and
Kathryn Stafford, OhioStateUniversity
Saving is one of the primary ways families
achieve their financial goals and cope with financial emergencies. The purpose
of this paper was to examine differences between saver and non-saver low-income
households and identify predictions of their saving behavior. Knowing the
influences on low-income households saving could have implications for
financial education and public policy. Data from the 2001 Survey of Consumer
Finances were analyzed using logistic regression in SPSS. The dependent
variable was saving status (whether or not low-income families saved). Saving
was defined as income not spent in the last year. The independent variables
were saving motives, financial resources, credit use, and demographic
variables. Saving status of low-income households was negatively related to insufficient
financial resources and high credit use even if they had high levels of saving
motivation.