Re:Credit-Card Debt Nears $1 Trillion as Banks Push Plastic
by abarringer on Friday May 20, 2016 @03:33PM
(#11740761)
I agree, it is terrifying.
They say the average US household has $15,762 of Credit Card debt.[0] (that's disputed it could be from 5K to 15K depending on what numbers you believe) [1]
With an average rate of 15.07%[2]
Which works out to something like a minimum payment of $600 a month with $188 of it going to interest.
The Average US consumer is not just tapped out but actively being strangled by debt.
"47: The percentage of Americans who can’t pay for an unexpected $400 expense through savings or credit cards"[3]
What this really means is a near majority of the country is on the very brink of bankruptcy one trip to the ER (with insurance) or a tire blowout and down they go.
The terrifying part is that any hint of recession and the ripple effect could take a lot of us down with it.
They say the average US household has $15,762 of Credit Card debt.[0] (that's disputed it could be from 5K to 15K depending on what numbers you believe) [1]
With an average rate of 15.07%[2]
Which works out to something like a minimum payment of $600 a month with $188 of it going to interest.
The Average US consumer is not just tapped out but actively being strangled by debt.
"47: The percentage of Americans who can’t pay for an unexpected $400 expense through savings or credit cards"[3]
What this really means is a near majority of the country is on the very brink of bankruptcy one trip to the ER (with insurance) or a tire blowout and down they go.
The terrifying part is that any hint of recession and the ripple effect could take a lot of us down with it.
[0] https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-data/average-cre... [1] http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/images/infograph... [2] http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/interest-rate-re... [3] http://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/2014-report-econom...