April is Financial Literacy Month and, goodness knows, there is plenty of work to do. However, Americans may not be as dollar-dumb as we are led to believe.

Consensus is that most households are one paycheck away from bankruptcy and one mortgage payment away from foreclosure. In truth, we're not doing that bad. More than 95 percent of people pay their credit card bills on time and more than 98 percent of homeowners make their mortgage payment on time.

And as a society, we are a growing population of investors. The Investment Company Institute says that 87.9 million individuals and households own mutual funds with much of the money in retirement accounts. Combine that with ownership of individual stocks and nearly 60 percent of people in this country are investors.

The most recent ICI report says that assets in IRA, 401(k) and other employer-sponsored plans rose to $17.4 trillion in the second quarter of 2007, representing 40 percent of all household financial assets.

That is a very important -- and often neglected -- financial statistic.

Each month, when the government reports on personal income and personal spending, there is gleeful reporting of how the savings rate by Americans has dropped to the lowest level since the Great Depression. The only problem with this statement is that it is based on after-tax income. Most Americans are smart enough to do their savings in tax-favored accounts.

Back in the Great Depression, there were no IRAs or other plans that allowed people to save and invest money before Uncle Sam and Governor Arnold took out their share of the wealth. But today, we have the option of setting aside money through payroll deduction plans and letting it grow in tax-favorable accounts.

To be sure, a lot more needs to be done to improve financial literacy. While workers are wise to the importance of using employer-sponsored plans -- especially if there are matching contributions from their employers -- they are often dumb in making the right decisions with the money.

Most plans use a money market account as the default destination for contributions. For a young person, that is probably the worst thing possible. In your early years of investing, it is critical to go for growth while time is on your side. Seizing the opportunities that are offered in your plan is critical.

A 20-year-old worker who puts away $100 a month in a retirement account will have invested a total of $54,000 by the time they reach age 65. But with a 10 percent annual rate of return, it will have grown to $1,048,250. An investment of $500 a month would grow to nearly $5.25 million.

You don't have to be a genius to realize that time, not timing, is what makes for investment success.

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George Chamberlin is a regular contributor to the North County Times and also is a TV and radio commentator. Contact him at geoc1045@gmail.com.