Tiffany Sloan is heading to Kansas University in the next couple of weeks, but she’s got one major life lesson figured out before she hits campus.

She’s saving money – lots of it for an 18-year-old.

The recent Free State High School graduate said she’s got a “couple of thousand” dollars in her savings account.

“I’m working two jobs right now, trying to save up for college,” Sloan said last week. “So I just put my paychecks right into the bank, my savings account, and take out what I need.”

She added: “I’ve been saving up a long time.”

Recent reports indicate Sloan has most full-time workers beat. The Bureau of Economic Analysis earlier this month announced that the personal savings rate of Americans dipped to 0 percent in June – putting the country on track for its lowest annual savings rate since the Great Depression.

As recently as 1980, Americans were saving 10 percent of their income every year. In 2004, the average was just 1.8 percent.

For many, the financial cupboard is bare. The Consumer Federation of America released a study in April showing that 42 percent of all women had emergency savings of less than $500.

Buy now, pay later

Financial experts say consumers don’t save for big purchases anymore – they buy on credit and pay interest later. But that approach can defer savings for their children’s college expenses and their own retirement plans.

“I think our society has become an entitlement society,” said Peggy Johnson, of Ameriprise Financial, the Lawrence firm known until recently as American Express Financial Advisors. “I’m entitled to have everything now – I’ll worry about future goals later.”

But Davin Schuler, a financial consultant with Peoples Bank in Lawrence, said that overall wealth in America remains high. Instead of putting money into savings accounts and certificates of deposit, he said, Americans are pouring their free cash into the booming real estate market – and counting on it to pay off down the road.

“They’ve just changed where they’re putting their money and saving,” Schuler said.

Even those savings can be squandered, though.

“You’ve had kind of a wealth effect in real estate, where they see their houses appreciating in value,” Schuler said. “They in turn have, through home equity loans, somewhat tapped into that, taken some of that money out of there. When they spend more, taking out than what they’re taking in income, that creates that zero savings rate.”

‘Things cost more’

But other Lawrence residents say putting away money isn’t always easy. Warren Frick, a Lawrence physician, said he doesn’t have much extra income after feeding his family.

“I’ve got three little girls, and as they get older expenses rise,” Frick said last week. “It’s not terribly easy right now.”

• 6News video: Americans not saving enough money (08-14-05)

He added: “Things cost more, and incomes aren’t necessarily going up.”

Johnson said that most workers can put some money aside out of their paychecks – even if it’s just a little bit.

“I believe everybody can set something aside,” she said. “It’s just that some people can set more aside.”

She added: “Someday down the road, most people want to help their kids through college, or they want to retire and not worry about their money. Savings is a part of that.”

It’s a lesson Sloan has already learned well, even if it’s not always easy.

“My parents opened up my savings account, so they’ve always tried to teach me to save my money and not spend it all,” she said. “But it’s hard.”

There is a payoff, however. A lot of her friends only have the money that’s in their wallets.

“It’s going to help a lot,” Sloane said of her savings. “I’ll be able to have more money for myself and help my education.”