American Household Credit Card Debt

Not including mortages, student loans..etc.

Approximately $9,200.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/ money101/lesson9/

2008-03-24 10:44:03 by sarahrose

US issues $7 trillion debt, supply to stabilize finance.yahoo.com AP source: Census worker hanged with 'fed' on body www.google.com Moody ...

•1970:
•1975:
•1980:
•1985:
•1990:
•1995:
•2000:
•2005:
•2009:

Here's the credit card debt total in billions. You'll have to find the number of household to divide by each year.

• 1970: $4.1
• 1975: $15
• 1980: $59
• 1985: $132
• 1990: $251
• 1995: $465
• 2000: $702
• 2005: $856
• 2009 (Aug): $898

2009-10-27 10:28:37 by ...

Price: $9.95 $9.95

Even when the Dow was over 13,000...when unemployment was at 4%...Americans STILL overspent!

Now, average credit card debt is $4013. The average household credit card debt is $7900.

These numbers are actually LOWER than they had been. October, 2008: $4208 per adult, $8188 per household But this is still really high. Why can't Americans spend within their means? These aren't necessarily working class poor that racks up this debt out of necessity, but middle and upper class people who simply can't stop spending.

Well we have a government that encourages and offers incentives for Americans to take on more debt (most recently 'Cash for Clunkers'). Until people learn to be fiscally responsible with their own money, it'll never happen. We live in a society that glamorizes having big houses, fancy cars, and iPods, and the people who are least capable of affording those things are the first to rack up the debt to obtain them.

2009-08-07 11:06:09 by pdooma

There is really no excuse - Americans make more in salary (on average) than most other countries, except for a few countries in Europe.

That means that the average American has plenty of opportunities to save money for retirement and for emergencies.

And yet - the average American worker has less than $10,000 in total retirement savings!

The average American household has around $9,000 in credit card debts.

Many Americans save so little money that they can't even pay for their own healthcare coverage if they lose their jobs.

What the heck is up with this?

I remember being in Germany, and even though people make less money on average than Americans, they saved a lot more, and they could afford nice stuff like yearly beach vacations to Thailand, simply by managing their money carefully.

Why haven't Americans done the same?
"Who the hell are you?"

I'm an American born and raised in Texas, you moron.

Americans are caught up in the spending and plastic culture. I do not fall in this category because I came from a family that was frugal. I save about 25 of my take home income every month and I pay for my purchases in cash. I do not live extravagantly by any means but I was taught to only buy things that I need and to try to pay cash for everything. As a result, I have no car loan and no credit card debt and I bought a house that I could afford and put down 20%. My house payment is only 15 percent of my take home pay. Now, I do not have a cell phone with monthly bills. I have a pay as you go from tmobile and I buy 100 dollars worth of minutes every year and that is all I use. I try not to eat out too much and I watch what I buy. I took money out of my savings to purchase my car outright. I am not earning 6 figures either. The Jone's may appear to be doing better than I am but both Jone's will be working at MacDonalds in the 80's while I am island hopping.

Hey poster below: This is not a democrat or a republican thing. Under the republicans people bought homes that they could not afford and attained more credit card debt in the history of the US. Under Clinton, banking rules were relaxed. There is no one political party to blame or uphold as a shining example.

2010-03-15 14:29:32 by Holographer

The Outrage In Your Credit Card's Fine Print

Blue Ridge Summit, PA. - Would you sign a contract that says, "Any term can be changed at any time for any reason, including no reason"? Anyone who uses a credit card already has.

Such are the absurd terms of the consumer credit-card industry, which is poised to be the next big crisis (after housing) that banks have aided and abetted in US households.

Americans have now racked up nearly $1 trillion in credit-card debt. As housing equity shrinks and costs rise, agencies such as Moody's report swelling numbers of accounts with balances three or more payments past due. Reinforced by abusive industry practices, the plastic safety net is becoming a permanent cage.

But here's the good news: If you've ever been steamed by surprise fees on your credit-card statement or had your interest rate cranked up without warning, the Federal Reserve Board wants to help you. The Fed? That oracular secret society whose chairmen say Yoda-like things about interest rates? Well, actually, yes.

Ever since its remarkable "oversight" of junk lending led to the mortgage melt-down, the Fed seems determined not to let credit-card defaults drive the American banking system any closer to Third World standards.

There's plenty to reform. During the housing bubble, credit-card vendors inflated interest rates – even as the Fed slashed them – and found increasingly sneaky ways to usher their customers into perpetually indebted servitude. Such as:

•Raising rates as high as 32 percent on existing balances, with no notice, even when they've always been paid on time.

•Compressing the time between statement mailings and due dates.

•Charging interest on debt already repaid.

•Posting on-time payments after their due date – and then charging late fees.

•Neglecting to disclose how much interest and time it will take to pay off a balance with minimum payments (if ever).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/ylange;_ylt= AgZpM2IUNMSAWdos.8g_WlkDW7oF

You have changed my way of looking at my credit card..........lol

2008-08-14 02:51:44 by J.B. Holiday