You're Not Saving Enough. Here's Why

We're saving a lot less than we did just a few years ago.

This is bad news. When it comes to retirement, Americans should be saving even more than they think is probably necessary.

The personal U.S. savings rate for November 2007 was negative 0.5% of disposable income, according to the latest available figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. That means for every $100 a person earned, that person ended up spending $100.50, or 0.5% more than he or she earned.

By comparison, Americans saved 1.8% of their disposable income in 2004, and that was down from 4.8% in 1994 and 10.8% in 1984. (The numbers don't take into account investments in real estate.) ...