Less than half of Americans can cover a surprise $1,000 expense, survey finds

A standard barometer of financial health is how much money you have socked away for the proverbial rainy day. By that measure, millions of people in the U.S. are in danger of getting soaked. 

More than half of Americans lack the savings to cover a surprise $1,000 expense, according to a new survey from Bankrate. And fully a third of households would have to use a credit card, take out a personal loan, or borrow money from family or friends to handle such an emergency.

Of that number, 20% of the respondents indicated they would cover unplanned costs using plastic — a move many experts advise against given the average interest on variable-rate credit cards last year topped 16%, Bankrate's data shows.