Financial Security Declines in America

Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE) is out with a report showing a significant drop in financial security of Americans. Unfortunately, this drop is the largest in 11 months. To make matters worse, the drop was in all components of the index: job security, savings, debt, net worth and overall financial situation. The overall Financial Security Index dropped from 100.8 in June to 97.9 in July. A reading of 100 would indicate the same level of financial security as one year ago.

The report shows that 28% of Americans believe that their overall financial situation is lower now than one year ago, and only 23% of Americans now feel better about their overall financial situation.

Another big drop was that 39% of Americans are now less comfortable with their savings compared to last year, with only 16% saying they feel better about their savings.

Only 60% of Americans now track their monthly spending against a budget, versus 58% a year ago. If the government cannot adhere to a budget, can they expect the public to do so?

JON C. OGG