We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our
goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you
with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original
and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare
information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with
confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to,
American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and
Discover.
How We Make Money.
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate
us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this
site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear
within the listing categories. But this compensation does not
influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on
this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial
offers that may be available to you.
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions.
While we adhere to strict
,
this post may contain references to products from our partners.
Here’s an explanation for
.
Editorial Integrity
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that
we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and
reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the
right financial decisions.
Key Principles
We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with
accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards
in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters
thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information
you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our
advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not
receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
Editorial Independence
Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader.
Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart
personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure
that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our
editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers,
and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So,
whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that
you’re getting credible and dependable information.
How We Make Money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have
been helping you master your money for over four decades. We
continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and
tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.
Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that
our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and
reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the
right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial
staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our
advertisers.
We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content,
competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we
make money.
Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher
and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for
placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking
on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation
may impact how, where and in what order products appear within
listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary
website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at
your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and
where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a
wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about
every financial or credit product or service.
Americans aren’t feeling as keen about their household finances, judging from a dip in Bankrate’s Financial Security Index into negative territory after six months of upbeat readings.
For the first time since February, the index has fallen to a level below 100 — terrain that indicates deteriorating financial security compared to a year ago. A reading above 100 means improving financial security.
The index slipped 1 point in September, to 99.5. It’s down more than 3 points from the all-time high of 102.7, reached in June of this year.
Bankrate’s Financial Security Index gauges how Americans feel today versus a year ago on vital financial matters. An index value of less than 100 indicates declining levels of financial security; a value greater than 100 reveals higher levels of security compared to 12 months ago.
Consumers’ uneasiness about their debt, net worth and overall financial situation have all increased this month, with feelings about debt taking the biggest swing, says Greg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. Twenty-one percent now feel less comfortable with their debt than they did a year ago, versus 17 percent who feel more comfortable. In August, things were more even.
“Savings remains a drag on financial security,” McBride notes, “with those feeling less comfortable with their savings now, compared to one year ago, outnumbering those who are more comfortable by better than 2-to-1.” He adds that when you break down the survey results into age groups, income brackets or education levels, no subset of the population is feeling better about their savings these days.
The monthly survey that Bankrate uses to compile the Financial Security Index also asks about job security. There, McBride sees a bright spot: Just roughly 1 out of 8 employed Americans — 12 percent — feels less secure at work, versus a year ago. That’s a new low for the survey, which began in December 2010.
Share