Credit Card Debt Per American

•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 ...

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Hello,

I have a question regarding my American Express "Blue" credit card (this one is a credit card as opposed to a charge card) which I hope that someone might be able to help me figure out.

I have several credit cards, but I have no debt and I like to pay them off in full. I have never been charged interest, and I also have a good credit rating. Usually, I like to pay off the balances for each card in full once every two weeks using an on-line payment/EFT. This way I don't have to worry about when my credit card bills are due.

My question is this: my American Express Blue card does not allow me to pay more than the total amount due at any given time. For example, if the balance for the previous month is $300 and I have already charged an additional $25 worth of purchases since the end of last month, the system will only allow me to pay $300 as opposed to $325. Or, if I already paid the balance in full two weeks ago, the system doesn't allow me to pay it off again in full until they issue my next statement. So far, I have gotten around this by using my bank's online bill payment system.

Do you think that by paying more than the total amount due I might be hurting my reputation with American Express? I really don't want to wait until the end of the month.

As long as you're paying your full bill by the time it is due, it's fine.

2009-03-17 14:07:56 by dhgeug

Like most Americans, I've got plenty of credit card debt racked up. That's fine, I've come to terms with it and have been paying it off like a responsible adult. Here's the thing...some of these credit card companies are now laying claim to the billions of dollars in tax relief (i.e. Citibank), some of which I pay into. $700 Billion dollars has already been allocated. That breaks down to about $5,000 per tax paying citizen (estimated 150 million citizens - half of the general population). Seeing as that is nearly equivalent to the amount of debt I have on my credit cards, by my view that makes us about even. Who else is with me?

You need to pay your credit card debt because that is the right thing to do. You promised to pay it back when you took out the loan, so you need to keep your promise.

That said, I have a real problem with the bailouts and redistribution of wealth. If an operation can't operate in a profitable manner, then they need to reorganize so that they can. We all have to operate on a budget at our houses, they should too.

2008-11-24 08:21:26 by eyeh8tyhoo

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

I have the following credit cards with the following credit limits.
Frys1800 2 months
Amazon1700 Less than 1 month
Mastercard6000 3 years
Capital one750 1 year
Discover3000 Less than 1 month
American Ex2000 Less than 1 month

I have never missed a payment of any kind and have nothing bad on my credit report of any kind. I'm 26. I will never carry a balance on any credit card (id rather be homeless). I have never had any type of credit/debt other than my cards, aka no mortgage, not auto loan. I do have student loans.
I realize that applying for a lot of credit cards in a small amount of time will damage my credit and do not plan on doing this.

I would like to start getting a new credit card every 6 months because I want to build a robust credit history and mainly because I want to increase my amount of available credit. I use my cards for everything because I get a lot of cash back. In the past I have been limited by the amount of money I could charge per month on my cards as some months I have spent more than 10k. I put everything on the cards and then just pay it off when the bill comes.

My goal is 20-50 cards over the next 10 years. Is this a bad idea? as in will this damage my credit in any way?

Also, I would like an answer from someone who pretty much knows or can cite some reputable sources.

No you should not get any more credit cards. It is a bad goal to want 20-50 credit cards. Every time you apply for credit, your credit score takes a hit. You do not need 20-50 cards to build a good credit history. Having too many cards will do more harm than good.

You may be surprised to find you are turned down for a loan because you have too much credit available. Accounts you no longer use, or have paid off, can count against you if they are listed as "open" on a credit report.

When creditors evaluate your application for credit, they ascertain whether, if you were to use all your available credit, you would be over your head. They usually consider these factors:

How close you are to your credit limits,
The total credit you have available, and
The number of accounts you hold.
Creditors may consider not only how much you currently owe, but also how much credit you have available. Having too much credit available can count against you.

Anyone with 20-50 cards is going to be viewed as a credit risk.

2009-09-13 16:32:08 by Ben K