Financial Security On the Uptick in January

The ""Bankrate.com"":www.bankrate.com/ ""Financial Security Index"":www.bankrate.com/finance/...index/financial-security-poll-0112.aspx made a leap in its recent release in January, from measuring a 95.8 in December to a 97.3, which is reported to be the highest score since June measured a 97.8.

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However, despite the seemingly positive outlook, consumers continue to feel uneasy with their financial security.

Any reading below 100 signifies a lower level of financial security in comparison to the previous year. Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate.com's senior financial analyst, says, ""Each of the components -- job security, savings, debt, net worth and overall financial security -- improved over the past months.""

McBride continued by saying that the ""overall Financial Security Index is still showing a decline versus one year ago, so ample room for improvement remains. The negative sentiment is highest among retirees and lower-income households.""

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Bankrate.com reported that job security received a 20 percent of Americans feeling more secure than last year, with 17 percent feeling less secure.

When it came to savings, Bankrate.com described it to be ""the Achilles' heel of financial security.""

Those under the age of 30, normally college graduates and households making an annual income of $75,000 continue to be the most comfortable with their savings versus households who earned under $30,000, including the unemployed.

Nearly 41 percent of Americans percent felt more comfortable, outweighing the 14 percent who felt less comfortable. Debt was a neutral issue; 23 percent said they were more comfortable than they were last year, while 23 percent also said they were less comfortable.

Net worth, for the first time since June, reflected positively. With 24 percent reporting much higher net worth than a year ago versus the 22 percent that reported lower net worth.

Bankrate.com claimed typically those under the age of 50 are the more likely to report high net worth, rather than those below. Households boasting an income of $75,000 and more are most likely to have higher net worth and those with an annual income of $30,000 less.

Overall, Americans are reporting feeling negatively towards their financial situation. With 28 percent saying it is worse than the year prior and 23 percent reporting it has improved. However, the gap continues to narrow each month since October between those reporting a worse situation and those reporting better.