The COUNTRY Financial Security Index continued it's upward swing in October, rising 1.3 points to 69.9, as Americans felt more confident in nearly all aspects of their financial security. The latest boost took the Index to its second highest reading of the year, just short of the 70.2 recorded in February.



The COUNTRY Index records the perceived financial security of respondents on a scale of 0-100 with 100 indicating the highest level of security. It is based upon responses to a series of baseline survey questions asked in a national survey of at least 3,000 randomly selected American adults every other month.

"Americans aren't letting recent news about a credit crunch, changing interest rates and predictions of a recession drive how they feel about their own financial security," says Keith Brannan, director of the financial security office at COUNTRY. "Instead, the news may be prompting people to pay closer attention to their family's financial situation. Some may have discovered they're in good financial shape, while others may have been spurred to save more for the future."

Americans Upbeat about Finances in October

- Fifty-one percent of Americans rated their personal level of financial security favorably, up three points from August. Further, 17 percent rated their financial security as excellent, marking the most Americans to feel this way since the COUNTRY Index began this year.

- The number of people able to set aside money for savings or investments increased two points to 55 percent.

- Debt concerns continued to subside in October, as the number confident in their ability to pay all their debts as they come due rose another two points to 81 percent.

Retirement and College Funding Prospects Spike

- Those confident in their ability to send their children to college (70 percent) and to have enough money to enjoy a comfortable retirement (65 percent) both rose two points in October to the highest they have been since the COUNTRY Index launched early this year.