A study released today by Bankrate.comfound that only 58% of Americans track their spending against a monthly budget. Bankrate's overall Financial Security Index fell from 97.8 in June to 95.6 in July, the lowest reading since April. Confidence in job security and savings dropped to 2011 lows.

Among the findings:

• Those with college degrees (66%) and those that are parents (65%) are highly likely to track spending against a budget.
• Least likely to track spending against a budget are those with a high school diploma or less (52%) and households with less than$30,000in annual income (53%).
• Geographically, those in the Northeast (53%) are less likely to track spending against a budget than their counterparts in other parts of the country.
• 26% of Americans reportedhigher net worththan one year ago, whereas 25% reported lower net worth.

"A significant portion of the U.S. population would benefit from better budgeting habits," explainedGreg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com. "For example, we recently found that only 24% of Americans have adequate emergency savings. Consumers who create a monthly budget and stick to it are much more likely to be prepared for unexpected emergencies and more routine goals. Regardless of one's income level, it's critical to manage monthly cash flow and to properly assign funds to specific buckets such as a rainy-day fund, groceries and retirement. It's not good enough to wait until the end of the month and see what happens."