$1,000 to cover an emergency isn’t a measure of wealth, it’s a measure of liquidity. For this reason it makes sense to compare it to income. If you have $200,000 in student debt but still have a couple thousand in your checking account in case your car breaks down, you would count as having the money the way the survey was run. Using the word “savings” in that sentence was probably a bad choice on my part.
$1,000 to cover an emergency isn’t a measure of wealth, it’s a measure of liquidity. For this reason it makes sense to compare it to income. If you have $200,000 in student debt but still have a couple thousand in your checking account in case your car breaks down, you would count as having the money the way the survey was run. Using the word “savings” in that sentence was probably a bad choice on my part.