Home Business . Meanwhile, the personal savings rate was 1.6 percent. The new Commerce Department statistics, published this week, were a post-Halloween horror story for anyone worried about financial security. Some families pay their kids' college tuition from trust funds.
Some families plunk down cash for towering sport-utility vehicles and luxury sedans.
Some families outfit themselves at Nordstrom's. But most working families aren't in that cushy spot. They're on a budget. They make choices. They do without.