NEW YORK, Feb. 21, 2012
/PRNewswire/ -- Only 54% of Americans have more emergency
savings than credit card debt, according to a new poll released
today by Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE). One in four Americans (25%) has
more credit card debt than emergency savings and 16% have neither
credit card debt nor emergency savings.
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Bankrate's monthly Financial Security Index held at 97.3,
unchanged from January and tied for the highest level since
June 2011. Any reading below 100
indicates a lower level of financial security compared with 12
months earlier.
Despite four straight months of improving sentiment, consumers'
overall financial situation is still seen as negative. Twenty-seven
percent of Americans report a lower level of financial security now
versus one year ago and 24% report a higher level. Thirty-eight
percent of Americans are less comfortable with their savings now
compared with one year ago; only 14% are more comfortable.
"Emergency savings remains a problem area for many Americans,
which leaves them only one unplanned expense away from having
high-cost debt," said Greg McBride,
CFA, Bankrate.com's senior financial analyst. "Long-term
unemployment, stagnant wage growth and rising household expenses
are all contributing to this trend. As difficult as it may be to
boost savings, having an adequate emergency savings cushion is
critical to maintaining financial stability, and Americans need to
find ways to sock away more cash for a rainy day."
Additional findings included:
Job Security
- Consumers are slightly positive, with 20% feeling more secure
than one year ago and 19% feeling less secure (up from 17% in
January).
Savings
- Consumers have reported less negativity about their savings in
each of the past three months, with fewer feeling less comfortable
and more feeling about the same as 12 months ago.
Debt and Net Worth
- Both were little changed from January and maintain essentially
neutral readings.
Credit Card Debt vs. Emergency Savings
- Households with income of $75,000
or more per year, college graduates and retirees are the most
likely to have more in emergency savings than credit card
debt.
- Parents are the most likely to have more credit card debt than
emergency savings.
- Those most likely to have neither credit card debt nor
emergency savings are households with income of less than
$30,000 per year, those with a high
school education or less and the unemployed.
- In a similar Bankrate poll conducted in February 2011, 52% of Americans had more
emergency savings than credit card debt. Twenty-three percent had
more credit card debt than emergency savings and 19% had neither
credit card debt nor emergency savings.
The new study was conducted by Princeton Survey Research
Associates International (PSRAI) and can be seen in its entirety
here:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/consumer-index/survey-shows-savings-triumphs-debt.aspx.
The PSRAI February 2012 Omnibus
Week 1 obtained telephone interviews with a nationally
representative sample of 1,006 adults living in the continental
United States. Telephone
interviews were conducted by landline (603) and cell phone (403,
including 174 without a landline phone). The survey was conducted
by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI).
Interviews were done in English by Princeton Data Source from
February 2-5, 2012. Statistical
results are weighted to correct known demographic discrepancies.
The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data
is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
About Bankrate, Inc.
Bankrate is a leading publisher, aggregator and distributor
of personal finance content on the Internet. Bankrate provides
consumers with proprietary, fully researched, comprehensive,
independent and objective personal finance editorial content across
multiple vertical categories including mortgages, deposits,
insurance, credit cards, and other categories, such as retirement,
automobile loans, and taxes. The Bankrate network includes
Bankrate.com, our flagship website, and other owned and operated
personal finance websites, including CreditCards.com, Interest.com,
Bankaholic.com, Mortgage-calc.com, CreditCardGuide.com, Nationwide
Card Services, InsuranceQuotes.com, CarInsuranceQuotes.com,
InsureMe, Bankrate.com.cn, CreditCards.ca, NetQuote.com, and
CD.com. Bankrate aggregates rate information from over 4,800
institutions on more than 300 financial products. With coverage of
nearly 600 local markets in all 50 U.S. states, Bankrate generates
over 172,000 distinct rate tables capturing on average over three
million pieces of information daily. Bankrate develops and
provides web services to over 80 co-branded websites with online
partners, including some of the most trusted and frequently visited
personal finance sites on the Internet such as Yahoo!, AOL, CNBC
and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate licenses editorial content to
over 500 newspapers on a daily basis including The Wall Street
Journal, USA Today, The
New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe.
www.bankrate.com
Ted Rossman
Public Relations Manager
Bankrate, Inc.
ted.rossman@bankrate.com
(917) 368-8635
SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.