Hitting the Household Post Pandemic Savings Buffers

Hitting the Buffers?

People saved more than usual over the pandemic, due to stimulus payments increasing income and an initial drop in spending.
Bank of America internal data indicates that some of the accumulated deposits are now being gradually drawn on, particularly among lower income households.
But there is little evidence of a sharp rise in people living ‘paycheck to paycheck’ – only 12% of customers have account inflows 85% or less of their outflows. Provided the economic slowdown is gradual, we expect the accumulated buffers to continue to support consumers for a significant period.

Read our full analysis for a more in-depth look at these trends.

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Hitting the household savings buffers

2 hands holding a digital tablet and a credit card

Our data confirms the U.S. housing market is slowing, which may be a drag on discretionary spending, especially for renters.

While discretionary spending slows for high-income consumers, the story differs across expense categories.

Rising expenses will impact people differently, based on their income & spending. We take a look at who has the thinnest margins.