NEW YORK, Feb. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Slightly more than half of Americans (51%) have more emergency savings than credit card debt, according to a new Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE) report. That is the lowest percentage since Bankrate.com began tracking this issue in 2011.
Twenty-eight percent of Americans (more than one in four) have more credit card debt than emergency savings, the highest percentage in the past four years. And 17% have neither emergency savings nor credit card debt.
Americans between ages 30 and 64 – typically the prime earning years – are the most likely to have more credit card debt than emergency savings. "This is a reflection of the stagnant incomes, long-term unemployment and high household expenses that are hampering the financial progress of many Americans," according to Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate.com's chief financial analyst.
Bankrate.com's Financial Security Index fell to 99.3 in February, its lowest level since November 2013. Readings below 100 indicate lower financial security than the previous year. Two of the five components (job security and net worth) are higher than one year ago; two others (debt and overall financial situation) slipped into neutral territory this month.
Americans' comfort levels with their savings, consistently the most dire aspect of financial security, dropped to their lowest point in a year. Those who are less comfortable with their savings currently outnumber those who are more comfortable by more than two-to-one.
"The stock market's rocky start to the year and a run of less-than-stellar economic readings have put a dent in consumers' feelings of financial security," McBride added.
The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) and can be seen in its entirety here:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/consumer-index/financial-security-charts-0214.aspx
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PSRAI obtained telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,004 adults living in the continental United States. Interviews were conducted by landline (502) and cell phone (502, including 273 without a landline phone) in English and Spanish by Princeton Data Source from February 6-9, 2014. 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 3.5 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.
For more information:
Ted Rossman
Public Relations Manager, Bankrate, Inc.
ted.rossman@bankrate.com
(917) 368-8635
SOURCE Bankrate, Inc.
