US: how much in savings is left to support consumer spending?

In 2022, despite a historic hit to their purchasing power, US consumers kept spending merrily, and this has continued in recent months, albeit at a more moderate pace. One explanation for this apparent paradox is that they had built up a significant stock of savings during the pandemic. These excess savings are estimated to have halved from their peak. Given current trends, they would be more or less exhausted at the start of 2024. It is not possible to indefinitely combine a low...