Here's yet another indication of the perilous state of Americans' personal finances.

A Bankrate survey this month showed that 29 percent of Americans have zero emergency savings, the highest level in the five-year history of the survey and up from 26 percent last year.

Just 22 percent of respondents have enough savings to cover at least six months of expenses, which many experts consider the minimum for a satisfactory safety net.

"These results are further evidence that Americans remain woefully under-saved for unplanned expenses," Greg McBride, Bankrate's chief financial analyst, said on Bankrate.com. "And rather than progressing, [Americans] are moving in the wrong direction."

But we may be suffering from cognitive dissonance. Despite the woeful financial condition of many Americans, Bankrate's Financial Security Index, which measures Americans' outlook on their financial security, has climbed 2.5 percent this year.

To be sure, there are some signs of hope. The personal savings rate jumped to 5.6 percent of after-tax income in April, the second highest level since December 2012.

Another positive signal globally is that more of us are getting a taste of the good life, according to the 2015 World Wealth Report from Gap Gemini/RBC Wealth Management.

The number of people worldwide with investable wealth of $1 million and up climbed 6.7 percent last year to 14.6 million. To be sure, that's down from growth of 14.7 percent in 2013.

The Asia-Pacific region led the way with a gain of 8.5 percent, pushing its population of millionaires to 4.69 million, passing up North America's 4.68 million. But North America's millionaires are worth more than the Asia-Pacific's — $16.2 trillion to $15.8 trillion.

North America benefited from the strength of our stock markets, which posted a 10.3 percent gain versus a global average of 2.9 percent. The Asia-Pacific benefited from strong economic growth — 5.8 percent compared to 2.5 percent global growth.

India scored the highest gains in the world, with the number of millionaires soaring 26.3 percent and their wealth jumping 28.2 percent.

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