Average Credit Card Debt Per Person

I have $3000 in credit card debt for about five or six cards. I know the average credit card debt per person in the U.S. is about $10,000. I never have any money because I work part-time and go to class. I think my part-time job is in jeopardy and I just want to send cease and desist letters to all the credit cards and just move on. I have student loans (which my dad has agreed to pay) and other debt that is going to be paid off which I can handle. I am just concerned if I give up on the cards at least until I am in a better financial situation that I will never be able to lease an apartment.

Please share your experiences. Has anyone gone delinquent on quite a few things but was still allowed to lease an apartment by paying a double security deposit, etc? Please share with me. Thanks

Having 6 credit cards in default on you would probably mean you'd need a cosigner for a lease, not a larger security deposit.

You'd be viewed as a risk, and they'd want a cosigner in case you decided to stop paying rent

2008-10-31 23:39:12 by CMDS

Americans spent themselves into the recession...? Maybe, average credit card debt per American is now $8333 per person. Living within one's ...

President-elect Obama announced a plan to rectify some of the more abusive practices of credit-card issuers, including banks. But these are not to take effect for some 18 months.

Why not amnesty certain credit-card debt quickly and so give some real spending power to the average person?

I, for instance, have a credit card with some $2000 owing which was issued by Providian, and subsequently was acquired by WAMU before it went under. WAMU maintained and (itself in trouble) would not lower the abusive rates to which Providian jumped -- 24.9% on an original contract of 8%. I missed no payments, but lived in Florida after 9/11 and was able to pay only the minimum each month on a "maxed-out" balance ever since, (as was the case with some other cards), just staying this side of bankruptcy. I guess these factors "red-flagged" and kicked in the higher rate -- eventually reaching 31.4% with WAMU before it collapsed. Other card-debt of mine has been simply sold, so that I received a letter announcing my "New Rate". One of these was sold first to MBNA, and then to BankAmerica -- each time with a raise in interest despite meeting monthly minimums and a little more each month.

In the seven years that I have carried a total debt of about $15-20K, I think I have paid the principle off something like two or three times over. Now, I must pay for the $700Bn "Bailout" out of my taxes, and also continue to pay the monthly payments at inflated interest to J.P. Morgan Chase for the WAMU card, for instance -- despite the fact that Chase paid ZERO DOLLARS for WAMU'S "equity", including my debt.

Why not create an amnesty for debt to these banks that have enjoyed abusive profits for years, where the borrower is someone like myself who has in fact paid the principle amount of the loan and much more? Amnestying those whose total of payments is more than twice the amount of the cards' maximum credit amount seems reasonable to me a dividing line. In my case, that would give me some $600 per month in pocket to inject directly into the economy -- and I would still be doing my part as a citizen in paying my share of the bank bailout through taxes. Things as they are seem so unfair! I mean, I can't exactly call the credit bureaus and wreck the BANKS' credit-score, can I?

Your thoughts? And please -- comments such as "you idiot" aren't useful. There are many thousands of people in my position who have just managed stay afloat rather than declaring bankruptcy -- who now really need relief with the job market as poor as it is, and city rents remaining so high (in great part because of the same "investors" who got us all into this mess).
GEEGEE: The connection with Florida, at least Miami where I was at the time was that as a result of 9/11 the prime industry which supported the economy here in 2001 went bust. Thus, South Florida residency became a 'red flag' for banks on even current debt accounts, because so many bankrupted. Hotel occupancy here, for instance, was under 10% that winter.

As for the earlier answerer who I "TD"d, I borrowed the money at a reasonable rate of interest, and the loan was bought by a predatory bank which raised that to an abusive level. This is one of the practices that will be outlawed by the Obama administration.

And I quote, [pardon me] to wit:

" Amnestying those whose total of payments is more than twice the amount of the cards' maximum credit amount seems reasonable to me a dividing line. In my case, that would give me some $600 per month in pocket to inject directly into the economy -- and I would still be doing my part as a citizen in paying my share of the bank bailout through taxes. Things as they are seem so unfair! I mean, I can't exactly call the credit bureaus and wreck the BANKS' credit-score, can I? "

'Astute. 'Very. However, such is 'too' fair; and perhaps -- rather advanced. Or say, -- rather clear-headed.

But -- some turn on this may eventually come to light anyway once the, say, Devil feels It has gotten Its fair share; hence there is some keen awareness to the affect you announce, enclosed within this 18-month interim you speak to. And to that end, do not be surprised that Obama has just that in waiting, which may bring to bear exactly what you now advance in your thoughts, the like of which, too, may come as honest in the thoughts of comptrollers and economists as the unemployment ceiling rises to 10% and upward (which unofficially is all but there now).

Ultimately, as many have come to see, especially the gentleman and ex-Madoff associate, who recently committed suicide a couple of weeks ago, one were simply to shelve if not all but destroy the old pillars of capitalism and pay down one's principal-debt on each count -- way down, in fact, to which any converse dealings are presently not negotiable. For Wall Street as was known, is no more.

For now more than ever not even the experts in the Schools know how to suggest. What, with Harvard University alone losing 25% of its endowment -- what, Harvard!? featuring arguably the top MBA/DBA Business School programs in the country -- and Microsoft slated to be laying off thousands of IT and hardware engineers and Managers commencing in maybe the next two weeks!

Greed did blind the penny-thrifts to the better algorithms, which imports were needing applied but not heeded. As an ex-G.I., I will say this. We are in combat and thus are to be in combat-readiness. 'Made to improvise.

2009-01-01 18:14:55 by titou