What will it take to make Americans save more?

Survey after survey continues to point out the obvious: U.S. households are keeping very little of their incomes.

A new analysis of the habits and attitudes about saving in America found that most people know they're not saving as much as they should. But they aren't concerned enough to do a darn thing about it, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends project.

Even the country's wealthiest acknowledge they aren't saving enough, the survey found. Six in 10 adults (61 percent) with family incomes of $150,000 or more say they aren't putting away enough for the future.

This nationwide "savings shortfall," as Pew dubbed it, is the majority situation in virtually every key demographic group —- rich and poor, male and female, black and white. "While uneasiness about savings is broadly felt, these feelings apparently don't run deeply enough to motivate action," wrote Richard Morin, senior editor for the Pew project.

In another survey released last month by Pew and the Gallup organization, a majority of respondents said they hadn't improved their financial lives in the past five years. Twenty-five percent said they hadn't moved forward while 31 percent said they had fallen backward. This is "the most downbeat" assessment of Americans' financial progress in nearly half a century of polling by both organizations.

Part of the pessimism comes from the fact that for the past two decades, middle-income Americans have been spending more and borrowing more. Here's why, according to Pew:

> Homes are nearly 60 percent more expensive (in inflation-adjusted dollars) now than in the mid-1980s.

> Goods and services that didn't exist a few decades ago —- such as high-definition televisions, high-speed Internet and cable or satellite subscriptions —- have become commonplace consumer items.

> The costs of many of the anchors of a middle-class lifestyle —- not just housing, but medical care and a college education —- have increased more sharply than inflation.

On average, as a country we are saving less than 1 percent of our incomes. Some experts like to point out that the savings rate figure doesn't tell the whole story. Technically, it is true that the national savings rate does not include capital gains on investments (stocks, bonds, mutual funds) and real estate. Perhaps people were so elated about the paper gains in their investment portfolios that they became overconfident and just stopped saving.

But as we all have seen recently, relying on paper gains can get you into a heap of financial trouble.

I am not bemoaning the economic downturn. I think in one respect, it's a good thing. It's what this consumer-driven, debt-laden country needed. Far too many people put off saving when their incomes were good and their employment was stable. You can't always save enough to stave off every crisis, but even a small rainy-day fund can help.

Michelle Singletary is a financial columnist for The Washington Post. Write her at Michelle Singletary, Buyer's Edge, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 72 Marietta St. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30303 or e-mail buyersedge@ajc.com and put "comment for Michelle" in the subject line.