Inflation has been kicking the crap out of the American consumer….and it just keeps getting worse….
People are using the credit cards to help get by….
U.S. consumer credit card debt has jumped to nearly $1 trillion, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Thursday.
Credit card balances increased more than $60 billion over the three months ending in December, lifting the total amount of U.S. credit card debt to an all-time high of $986 billion, the report found.
The skyrocketing credit card balance has coincided with an increase in the interest rates paid on such debt, crunching household budgets as high inflation eats away at the savings that many amassed during the pandemic.
The average credit card interest rate offered in the U.S. over the last three months of 2022 stood at 21.6%, according to WalletHub, a jump from about 18% a year prior. An aggressive series of interest rate hikes imposed by the Federal Reserve has caused the jump in credit card rates.
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/us-credit-card-debt-now-totals-1-trillion/story
A trillion dollars that is about the amount the War Department’s recent budget….
Eventually all this debt will be called in and thus an economic collapse will be in our future.
I am fortunate for I have no credit debt…but that is just me.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
I use a credit card so I don’t have to carry a lot of money, but I pay the balance every month.
If you have a card then I think that is the best policy. chuq
I am fortunate that I have no credit card debt either …except for about $170 per month which is paid off completely every month.
If I had a card then I would use the same policy…..I live well within my means without credit debt. chuq
Me too … the idea has always been to have more money than is needed…
Electronic cash does little good with a bad hurricane….so I try to have a reserve for needs after such a storm. chuq
I stopped counting money a long time ago.
I like the feel and sleep on mounds of it weekly….LOL chuq
I stopped counting it and started weighing it a long time ago. LOL. John
I like my mattress….LOL chuq
I have no credit card debt either, but I do realize I am fortunate. All it takes in this country is one wrong move, and with no real safety net to speak of, the dominoes can fall very quickly….
And the fall is not far away I feel chuq
Sadly, probably not.
The clock is ticking and few are listening. chuq