Americans are saving less, and that could be one reason theyhaven’t gone hog-wild over reportedly less-than-stellar deals inthe lead-up to the holidays.

That’s the word from the Country Financial Security Index, whichhas been tracking consumers’ downward arc in their ability to savesince 2007.

According to the index, only 42 percent of Americans were ableto put money away for either savings or investments over the pasttwo months. When the index began in 2007, the pre-recession savingrate was 55 percent — still not great, but far better than it isnow.

Those aged 40-49 seem to be having the roughest time, with only32 percent saying they managed to sock away any money to use forholiday shopping.

Things could be worse: Seventy-five percent reported they areconfident about being able to pay their bills on time. Pity thepoor millennials, though. Only 62 percent of them said they can getthose bills down.

Still, Country Financial found grounds for optimism in the factthat 25 percent of survey respondents said their financial securitywas improving; that tally was up five points since June. Accordingto the company, that could be because they have less debt to worryabout. However, overall, Americans’ financial confidence is holdingsteady, with 42 percent rating their financial security as“excellent” or “good.” That’s up just a single percentage pointfrom June’s rate of 41 percent.

And, of course, respondents’ degree of optimism depends on theirincome level. Among those in the $100,000-$175,000 range, 62percent rated their financial security as good or excellent. Only24 percent of those in the $50,000-$100,000 range said that, andamong those in the $30,000-$50,000 range, just 20 percent saidso.

Those in the top bracket were also far more likely, at 34percent, to say their financial security was improving, comparedwith the middle range — less than a quarter (24 percent) — or thoseat the bottom (only 16 percent).

What’s surprising is that, in that lowest bracket, 30 percentsaid they were able to put aside money for savings or investments.Of those in the middle bracket, nearly half (48 percent) were ableto do so, and the top bracket maxed out at 59 percent doing somesaving.