Only 55 percent of Americans save more money than credit card debt

Credit card debt almost equals the amount that Americans have in emergency savings, according to a study by Bankrate.

Only 55 percent have more savings than credit card debt, but that number is higher than it has been the past two years. In 2011, only 52 percent had more savings than debt.

Although the amount of consumer credit has been dropping, Greg McBride, Bankrate’s senior financial analyst, said this doesn’t show much improvement when it comes to savings.

“Consumers may be deleveraging, but the proportion of people with more emergency savings than credit card debt hasn’t changed much,” McBride told Bankrate. “Given the poll’s 3.5% margin of error, one can make the argument that consumers haven’t moved the needle at all over the past 24 months.”

Men appear to have more in savings than women as well. While 60 percent of men said they had more savings than credit card debt, only 49 percent of women reported the same.

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