Below is from an excerpt from a blog posted in TheHill.com on April 28, 2014
X-factor for getting ahead
By John Hope Bryant and Frank Keating
published on TheHill.com
What’s the X-factor for hardworking but poor Americans to move up the economic ladder?
A lot goes into the recipe for success, and there’s no single predictor. Hard work through a steady job, getting a collegiate degree or credential, and waiting until marriage to have kids are all X-factors correlated with getting ahead. Luck is more of an X-factor than it should be these days.
Financial Capability Month, going on now, brings to mind one additional X-factor that helps people get ahead: savings. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, individuals who ascend from the bottom 20 percent have six times as much in the bank than those who remained stuck at the bottom.
That makes intuitive sense. After all, life is full of unexpected setbacks, and savings provide a buffer for the expenses that come with a job loss, a child’s injury, or a car accident. Savings help those on the ascent not to slip back down the ladder.
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