You may have read that the US savings rate for 2006 fell to a negative one percent. It was only the fourth time in recorded history, which is the last 100 years, that this has happened.

The previous three occasions are illustrative: 1932, 1933 and 2005.

A one percent negative savings rate means that, as a whole, the US population spent $1.01 for every $1 it took home. The rate is an average. It does not apply to everyone.

Here is another average: the savings rate in China in 2005 was 45 percent. Guess which is going to be the dominant economic power when your children are grown up.

MetLife, an insurance and financial services company, said it believed that the negative US savings rate is "a bellwether for the future of the American dream".

The lack of savings, "combined with the seismic shifts that have occurred in our society in the last few decades with regard to pensions, Social Security and health care, are increasingly putting the dream out of reach for most Americans," MetLife explained.

"For the first time since the Great Depression, many individuals will need to fund and finance the risks that had previously been managed, in large part, by the government or their employer.

"Today, individuals are feeling a tremendous amount of stress at having to manage their financial futures."

A study commissioned by MetLife revealed that 60 percent of working Americans feel they carry more financial burdens than their parents did, and the overwhelming majority feel this burden will continue to grow for future generations.

"While the shifting burdens make chasing the American dream more challenging, as a society we're making it harder with ratcheting expectations fuelling a constantly rising bar," said Beth Hirschhorn, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of MetLife.

"We know that the American dream is practically out of reach for most Americans and that it's running on the fumes of optimism. So, in order to reconcile or rationalise how hard it is to achieve the dream with Americans' desire to hold on to this American ideal, individuals have redefined the dream. It's no longer a destination, it's a never-ending pursuit."

Just so's you know, an alternate view is in circulation. In the fourth quarter of 2006, the argument ran, the US had amassed $1.8 trillion in gross savings, and therefore a one- or two-year run on savings makes little difference.

If this column has a point, it is that in order to achieve financial comfort, it is necessary to accumulate wealth consistently.

If you're working for a living, that can only happen slowly. The Bermuda Government might be able to help you with a pension when it's time to retire, but at best help is all government can do, because government pensions are intended as a supplement, not an income. Ask not what your country can do for you financially, ask what you can do for you financially.

Perhaps you're one of those people who throws up their hands and says: "I've tried saving, and I can't do it." Apparently, the majority of US baby boomers have adopted that stance. Yet the Chinese people are able to save almost half of what they earn. Almost half! What are we missing here?

I'd accept that it's more difficult to spend money in China. One reason I love Bermuda is that, after six in the evening, if you're not in the mood to buy food or drink, it's quite hard to spend any money at all.

Unlike the US, where many stores are open 24/7, and there are indeed many stores, Bermuda is largely a day-time economy. It's a lot easier to save money in Bermuda, despite the high prices, than it is in the States.

Saving is not about how many stores there are, how long they're open, or what they sell. It's about the individual saver. If your luck holds, you're going to get old and either not want to work or not be wanted at work.

At that time, you're going to need some money to make ends meet. The possibility of that, and dying, are the only certainties.

You don't have to set 45 percent of your income as a savings target. Or even 25 percent. Try to save 10 percent, or, say, $200 a month. Develop the habit. Once you start to care, and start to see a balance building up in your favour, you'll be heading in the right direction.