Just over $1 trillion in June 2023:
Collectively, Americans owe $1.13 trillion on their credit cards, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Make ALL interest payments NOT tax deductible for anyone.
3-2-1…
1 Like
What does that mean?. We often run up credit card debt to several thousand dollars, but then we pay it off before it comes due. Is there a breakdown somewhere that measures the actual cost of carrying credit card balances? Without that calculation it is hard to discern whether people are measurably increasing their debt vs. increasing their credit card usage vs. cash. For example my annual credit card statement is now several pages long because I use my credit card daily for small purchases instead of cash. Hence larger average balances, but no increase in debt.
4 Likes
Also now that my money markets pay about 5.5 percent and savings pays about 3.2 percent, there is a cost to carrying around a lot of cash to pay my small bills. I do carry cash to pay for pizza that give me a cash discount. But otherwise it is cheaper to use the card.
2 Likes
Easy enough to find out:
More credit cardholders are carrying card balances from month to month, a recent Bankrate credit card debt survey finds. In November 2023, 49 percent of cardholders fell into this credit card “debt revolver” category — up from 39 percent in 2021 and 47 percent in July 2023.
All at an average rate of almost 28%: I think that works out about $155 million in interest a year!
And they keep telling everyone how well the economy is doing 
1 Like
The CPI has cooled off since. Wage inflation is now net real wage growth.
The younger people in larger numbers are working. The generations are larger than the Boomers as well.
At younger ages, the next generations are in real terms making more money than many boomers did. This means young people have very long lives with higher incomes. They can afford to carry more debt.
Doesn’t look like it to me:
I’d regard John Williams (Shadowstats) as more reliable than the government when looking at CPI figures:
Oh no. Another one of those.
9 Likes
I did not say the timing is good. That is more individual than systemic.
While inroads have been made to get a living wage that has not happened.
The other thing as I did say there are more of them. Two generations as of now bigger than the boomers in number.
Perhaps the same as the last one. LOL
1 Like
9 Likes