Editor's note: This is a transcript of the audio file.
Hopefully, you have more money in your emergency savings than you do in credit card debt. However, you might be surprised for how many people the opposite is true. I'm Kristin Arnold with your Bankrate.com Personal Finance Minute.
Bankrate.com is out with their monthly Financial Security Index and joining us to discuss how American's emergency saving stacks up against their credit card debt, is Senior Financial Analyst, Greg McBride.
"Only a little more than half of Americans, 54% have more money in emergency saving than they do in credit card debt. One-in-four Americans has more credit card debt than emergency savings … with parents most likely to be in this camp. And 16%, about 1-in-6 Americans, doesn't have either credit card debt or emergency savings."
So, how are Americans feeling about their financial security in this second month of 2012?
"Americans are feeling about the same as they did in January … with the financial security index unchanged at 97.3%. But this is still the highest since June of 2011. Consumers feeling about their overall financial situation have improved for four months in a row … though sentiment is still negative, with more people saying it's worse than a year ago - than better."
To read more about Bankrate.com's monthly Financial Security Index ... just visit our website. I'm Kristin Arnold.