Posted on 03/09/2018 8:20:34 AM PST by NohSpinZone
Total U.S. credit card debt has topped $1 trillion for the first time, according to a new report from the card comparison site WalletHub.
Consumers added $92 billion in credit card debt in 2017, bringing the aggregate over $1 trillion. Other categories over the trillion-dollar threshold are housing, auto loan, and student loan debt.
[SNIP]
The average household owes a record $8,600, which is more than the peak during the recession.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
I’m happy to say that this house and family have exactly ZERO dollars in debt.
Debt is slavery and someday people will come to their senses and see that again.
I am not a contributor.
Got rid of mine last year and so far, so good, running ok.
GOOD for you and your family. I’m a big Dave Ramsey fan and he always reminds his listeners of the Proverb “the debtor is slave to the lender.”
That is until they see something they just gotta have!
Dave Ramsey is awesome!
I LOVE his point that the most interest anyone can earn on their money right now is by paying off their debt so they can STOP PAYING INTEREST!!!
I account for none of it. At least for more than 30 days out.
Delayed gratification and living within your means: how to not pay for the privilege of just being alive.
Bingo. Common sense for your dollars and cents. Too bad this sense is not so common among US consumers.
I’ve been a debt slave but never a student loan though.
Being a state employee and the time of the wun destroying all made things tough for a while.
So why are the CC firms of MC/Visa etc allowed to run a monopoly on high fees?
Hey, that guy has a shiny thing. It’s not fair. Why shouldn’t I have a shiny thing too? It’s only 20% interest after all.
Because it’s like that old joke about why dogs lick themselves “because they can”. They’re only catering to demand and setting their prices based on market forces. If we consumers had more discretion, we could drive these companies and banks into other businesses.
Our only "debt" is the monthly credit card bills for groceries/gas/amusement/dining...
It made it an easy decision when retirement time came around for us.
An amount of debt is like a change in the stock market: percentage is what counts.
Coupled with 70+% of people in this country having $10K in the bank......coupled with the student debt delinquent totals...coupled with this country’s unfunded liabilities....yeah, this country, as with much of the world if the U.S. economy collapses, is headed for an impending economic reckoning of epic proportions. Not a matter of ‘if’, it is a matter of ‘when’!
“Our only “debt” is the monthly credit card bills for groceries/gas/amusement/dining...”
Same here. My best ‘investment’ is the 2 or 3% I get back on my credit card. I pay it off in full every month. And it’s easier to have one or two cc bills to pay than to pay each store/utility individually.
BUT I only recommend this to those that wouldn’t buy more just because it’s on a credit card. I see those charges as real money, my money. It’s no different than writing a check to me. But others need to be careful, as per DR.
You cannot get ahead if GM financial and Fannie Mae own most of your paycheck, pure and simple.
Right! Ramsey says that studies show consumers tend to spend 18 to 20% more when using plastic vs. paper - using cash triggers some pain mechanisms in our brain. I can totally see that. Most people do not have the discipline you exhibit.
EXACTLY. Don't plunder yourself and your family.
Socialism Is Legal Plunder - Bastiat; "The Law"
US Debt clock is approaching 21 trillion.
live - free - individual/republic
These days it seems as if Sallie Mae is the biggest yoke around the necks of Americans.
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