Thanks in part to multiple infusions of government cash, Americans' total personal savings increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The savings level rose sharply when a new stimulus payment was issued. However, in late 2021, personal savings returned to prepandemic levels.
Source: “Personal Saving,” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Dec. 23, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/3z8sx99k; Smith, Talmon Joseph, “Americans’ Pandemic-Era ‘Excess Savings’ Are Dwindling for Many,” The New York Times, Dec. 8, 2021, https://tinyurl.com/28h5wsra
Data for the graphic are as follows:
| Date | Personal Savings (in billions) |
| January 2018 | $1,127.7 |
| February 2018 | $1,162.4 |
| March 2018 | $1,170.0 |
| April 2018 | $1,152.3 |
| May 2018 | $1,160.9 |
| June 2018 | $1,181.7 |
| July 2018 | $1,192.8 |
| August 2018 | $1,192.5 |
| September 2018 | $1,195.7 |
| October 2018 | $1,169.4 |
| November 2018 | $1,135.5 |
| December 2018 | $1,450.5 |
| January 2019 | $1,386.6 |
| February 2019 | $1,419.1 |
| March 2019 | $1,324.4 |
| April 2019 | $1,233.3 |
| May 2019 | $1,190.7 |
| June 2019 | $1,159.0 |
| July 2019 | $1,138.0 |
| August 2019 | $1,179.0 |
| September 2019 | $1,198.1 |
| October 2019 | $1,203.6 |
| November 2019 | $1,227.8 |
| December 2019 | $1,193.8 |
| January 2020 | $1,293.8 |
| February 2020 | $1,392.4 |
| March 2020 | $2,147.9 |
| April 2020 | $6,392.5 |
| May 2020 | $4,478.1 |
| June 2020 | $3,445.3 |
| July 2020 | $3,359.4 |
| August 2020 | $2,598.4 |
| September 2020 | $2,506.2 |
| October 2020 | $2,370.9 |
| November 2020 | $2,239.3 |
| December 2020 | $2,426.2 |
| January 2021 | $3,798.6 |
| February 2021 | $2,376.9 |
| March 2021 | $5,763.5 |
| April 2021 | $2,331.1 |
| May 2021 | $1,872.8 |
| June 2021 | $1,713.2 |
| July 2021 | $1,913.3 |
| August 2021 | $1,786.3 |
| September 2021 | $1,454.0 |
| October 2021 | $1,286.2 |
| November 2021 | $1,250 |