Americans' savings rate for all of 1989 was 4.6 percent.

"For the economy as a whole, the important thing is the savings rate."

The huge increase in home values since the mid-1970's also cut into the savings rate.

The economy may be hot, but the dark side is a low savings rate and high levels of personal debt.

Twenty years ago, the American savings rate was more than 9 percent.

In both, the initial average savings rate was around 3 percent.

Over the 1980s, the personal saving rate was slightly lower than in the 1970s.

In fact, the saving rate has been negative for the last seven months.

If it did, the American savings rate would be somewhat higher.

China's savings rate is nearly 50 percent, one of the highest rates in the world.