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 ...
That reminds me, I have to send in a payment for .000000001% of that.
Good for you.
Pure convenience instead of writing a lot of checks or making numerous debit card transactions (which don't give cash returns), or handling a lot of cash.
When we go on vacations that might bleed into the next billing cycle, I make an extra payment to cover the expected expenses so I don't get caught with late-payment interest charges while away from home. I could just use my laptop to go to the CC site and make a payment with my checking account info but it's easier to just pad the account up front.
None of that debt is mine either.
I wonder if the total includes people like me who try to charge everything possible on a credit card, paying the balance off every month. The reason is that the bank pays me more of a percentage of the debt incurred than it does on a savings account. It ranges from 1.75% to 5.25%.
Like most, we hold a few store type cards, such as Home Depot, Menard’s, etc. Have you ever actually looked at their interest rate? It’s like between 26% and 28%!
Absolutely insane! (But I’ll take your points without carrying a balance.)
Amazing how little you actually need to spend.
Yeah, but the combined minimum monthly payment due on this is only $17.00 per month.
Got rid of mine (except one - a veterinary Care Credit card) about 5 years ago. Paid ‘em off and closed ‘em. Took a loan out against my 401K to pay ‘em off. The interest rate was better that way.
Yeah, there’s been a time or two where it’d have been nice to have one - but all in all, I’m way good.
I don’t think so. That would fall in the category of revolving credit lines and not necessarily outstanding debt. I think this trillion reflects debt that consumers are paying interest rates on - you don’t pay interest with zero balance each month, of course.
Here’s the full study: https://wallethub.com/edu/credit-card-debt-study/24400/
At the end of the day stuff like this just results in the election of people like Elizabeth Warren.
LOL. Yeah, see, we can afford it. All we have to do is pay $17 a month until it's paid off. It's like magic!
Yep, and the whole keep up with the Joneses idea.
Don’t worry about the Joneses. Live within your means and avoid debt.
Not always true. Could have a car loan with effectively 0% interest or a BT at 0% on a credit card but generally speaking that is correct.
Visa and MC are just the processors and there are more than them. There is no monopoly for credit cards - thousands of financial institutions issue credit cards in the US alone
I get back 3-4K/yr on my cards putting just about everything including work travel. Pays for a trip to Carib or Europe every year. Key is always paying it off!
lol yup - see you at paid off in 25 years!!
I’ve long noticed that any credit offered at 0% is almost always packaged with ‘service fees’ or ‘processing fees’ that magically approximate an interest charge.
If more people listened to dave ramsey we would have fewer democrats
1-3% bt fee for 18 months at 0% is a lot lower than 14.99-29.99% apr credit cards charge.
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