New report finds Americans owe more than a trillion dollars on credit cards

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Scripps News

Posted 10:30 PM, Nov 14, 2024


Americans have been doing a lot of swiping and tapping, racking up debt on their credit cards.

A new report by the New York Federal Reserve finds that consumers owe a record $1.1 trillion on their credit cards. That's more than 8% higher than a year ago. Credit cards remain the most expensive way to borrow money with interest rates over 20% — an all time-high.

And Caleb Silver, editor in chief with Investopedia, says don't expect a huge reduction on your credit card APR. "They're going to remain high, which means it's your responsibility as a borrower to make sure you're paying off your credit cards on time. You don't want the $100 sweater to become a $125 sweater next month because you didn't pay off the bill," he said.

Credit card delinquency rates improved in the third quarter of this year, which researchers say suggests that the debt is manageable. A recent survey by H&R Block found that Gen X, those between age 44 and 59, carry the most credit card debt, followed by millennials and baby boomers.

Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/life/money/new-report-finds-americans-owe-more-than-a-trillion-dollars-on-credit-cards

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Link to New York Fed PRESS RELEASE - Household Debt Rose Modestly; Delinquency Rates Remain Elevated

I think a lot of this is because the younger generations don't like "carrying cash" to pay for anything. They just "tap" or "swipe".

[BeyondGeography]

1. I think a lot of it is because people don't have enough money for the extras

Not extravagances either. Gifts for others, unexpected expenses like car repairs, the occasional vacation, etc. It adds up. And if you were spending 40 percent of your take-home pay on rent you’d be doing a lot of tapping and swiping too.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Cashiers look at you pretty strange if you pay even $10 cash

They're no longer in the rhythm of counting out change. They go real slow.

I'm surprised to see people surrender their credit cards at a bar to tally up at the end of the night.

And I was surprised at tipping on credit. Would you like to pay x% or 1.2x% or a generous 1.5x%? Thank you very much. Almost feel shamed into it.

[Trexmaster]

18. Processing fees

How much processing fees do banks & VISA/Mastercard charge businesses for?

[Marthe48]

3. Wonder when that'll hit the fan?

n/t

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. I was about to start a thread on this topic when I saw this.

Sadly, the vast majority of people use credit cards for every single purchase they make. Me, I pay cash for most day-to-day items, including groceries. I do use a card for various other expenses, but I pay off the full amount every month.

The reason cashiers don't know how to count back cash is that their register tells them the change amount. There's been no need to teach the count-back for decades.

[Maeve]

5. I'm a Boomer and I don't pay in cash most of the time

I also pay off my credit cards every month. Cash is for festivals and small businesses (sometimes they give discounts for cash)

[Gore1FL]

7. GenX here. Same thing.

Everything goes on credit. Full amount automatically withdrawn every month for payment.

It's the same as paying in cash, except I don't have to run to the bank all of the time and I get cash-back for purchases.

[Maeve]

10. Both cards we use give cash back

[relayerbob]

6. I think most of it went to ActBlue /s

[Demobrat]

8. I still use cash because so many of the people I

deal with prefer cash. My favorite coffee shop is cash only. Dry cleaner/laundry accepts cash or checks. Same for the local meat market. No cards. My hair stylist accepts only cash. She says if she takes cards she will have to raise her prices.

The local grocery store gives a 3% discount for cash. So does the nail salon. My dentist adds a 3% charge for cards. They are passing the cost of accepting the cards on to the consumer.

I would be using Apple Pay for everything, and leaving my wallet at home, but I can’t because the small businesses and self employed people I use can’t afford it.

[lark]

9. We have zero credit card debt and never will again - hopefully!

When we were younger, we got into trouble with credit cards and went to CCC (Consumer Credit Counseling). We were rigorous and paid off $40,000 in 4 years by cutting our spending to the bone. Some of it was settled, but most of it was paid in full. We learned to save up for the things we wanted and have been doing so for 40 years now.

Now, if tsf takes away or reduces our SS, I don't know what we will do since that is what we live on. Husband has a part time job and I have a small pension, but what keeps us going is SS. Maybe he will leave us oldsters on SS alone and just cut it for younger or will he dump everything in the stock market so we all get fucked? Deep breath!!

[nmmi]

11. Is Investopedia that math illiterate? "You don't want the $100 sweater to become a $125 sweater next month"

with interest rates over 20% — an all time-high.

And Caleb Silver, editor in chief with Investopedia, says don't expect a huge reduction on your credit card APR. "They're going to remain high, which means it's your responsibility as a borrower to make sure you're paying off your credit cards on time. You don't want the $100 sweater to become a $125 sweater next month because you didn't pay off the bill," he said.

Uhh, if the APR is, say, 25%, that means $100 becomes $125 in a year, not a month.

Something that increased 25% a month would be an annual APR of 1355%
(1.25^12 - 1)*100% = 1355%

At an APR of, say, 25%, the $100 becomes $101.88 in a month
1.25^(1/12) = 1.018769
1.018769^12 = 1.25
$100 * 1.018769 = $101.88
and $125 in a year.

Not a big deal for a month (an extra $1.88), kinda sucks for a year (an extra $25), but in 10 years, the $100 sweater would be
(1.25^10) * $100 = $931
And in just 2 more years: $1,455

edited to add I'm assuming the person is paying the bill on time, and is paying whatever minimum required amount, so that there are no penalties being assessed.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. "Is Investopedia that math illiterate?"

I wonder if they are just trying to "shock" the readers into thinking about how they are handling their credit without getting into the weeds of what is really going on.

They could alternately have a follow-on "Fact Check" article with a headline (using the latest ridiculous "buzz term" - "It's complicated" ) -

Would your $100 sweater bought on a credit card end up costing $125 the following month? It's complicated.

[Hotler]

15. If you pay the card off each month, that sweater only cost $100.00. Paying off your card each month pisses off the banks

Because you're using their money for free for 30-days. On C-SPAN I've heard the bankers refer to people that pay their card off each month as deadbeats.

[nmmi]

16. Yup, the free month-long (or longer) float is nice, along with the cash rewards

The 3% or whatever it is they charge the merchants pays for that.

I pay most of my bills and most of my on-the-road expenditures with credit cards and pay off every month automatically. I haven't paid a penny of interest in at least 3 decades.

I'd use more cash to save the merchants their swipe fees, but some seem to prefer cards. And my nearby ATM spits out $100's, and I'm tired of having some, like McDonalds, turn green when I give them one and disappearing into some back room, and I read articles about some not accepting $100's or even $50's. So fuckem. The card is convenient for me.

[Envirogal]

13. People also have an "I want it now" mentality

Back in the day, people used to have to save or buy things on layaway. So you really had to make sure you could afford things before you purchased them. You also waited until Christmas or your birthday to actually really ever get new things that weren’t necessities. Now people shop all the time, and that debt has become just part of every day living.

[Trexmaster]

19. Nickel-and-dimed

Nickel-and-dimed to death fries the brain, I've come to believe some years ago. The continous stress, the anxieties (plural), the unforseen happenstances...

For all it can be known, this can easily be a cry for help – can't get out of the rat race, it's spiralling down, down, down, down.

[hunter]

14. Ugh. I don't want a credit card. Burned once, never again

Years ago I made the mistake of paying medical bills with a credit card.

The medical debts continued to increase even after the card had reached its limit, but the hospitals and providers carried those debts, which is not the burden on them it seems because our health insurance was good and they were getting plenty of money through that channel.

My wife eventually regained her health and we were able to settle our debts, but dealing with the credit card debt collectors was completely demoralizing.

We now have enough in savings that we don't need to pay usurious rates for temporary increases in "purchasing power."

[Johnny2X2X]

17. Credit is not a measure of health for the economy.

As the economy grows, so does credit card debt. This is not a bad sign at all.