The survey also finds that one in five Americans (21 %) with a personal savings account and one in ten with retirement savings have added bank savings and CDs to their portfolios in the past six months.

However, many Americans admit that they have not saved enough to weather a downturn, either now or in their retirement years.  Almost 1/4 (22%) of those polled say they have no personal savings, and 30 percent say they don’t have any retirement savings.

Middle-aged and affluent Americans are cutting back most on credit card spending.  Approx. 45 percent of those ages 40-49 and 41 percent ages 50-64 say they used their credit cards less in the past six months. Of those earning $75,000 or more, 41 percent say they used their credit cards less.