credit card debt..

[ruffryder]

Interesting website with some credit card information...

Credit Cards

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• Average credit card debt per household with credit card debt: $15,788*
• Total credit cards in circulation in U.S: 576.4 million, as of yearend 2009 (Source: Nilson Report, February 2010)
• Total debit cards in circulation in U.S: 507 million, as of yearend 2009 (Source: Nilson Report, February 2010)
• Average number of credit cards held by cardholders: 3.5, as of yearend 2008 (Source: "The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice," Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January 2010)
• Average APR on new credit card offer: 14.10 percent (Source: CreditCards.com Weekly Rate Report, May 2010.)
• Average APR on credit card with a balance on it: 14.67 percent, as of February, 2010 (Source: Federal Reserve's G.19 report on consumer credit, May 2010)
• Total U.S. revolving debt (98 percent of which is made up of credit card debt): $852.6 billion, as of March 2010 (Source: Federal Reserve's G.19 report on consumer credit, March 2010)
• Total U.S. consumer debt: $2.45 trillion, as of March 2010 (Source: Federal Reserve's G.19 report on consumer credit, May 2010)
• U.S. credit card 60-day delinquency rate: 4.27 percent. (Source: Fitch Ratings, April 2010)
• U.S. credit card default rate: 13.01 percent. (Source: Fitch Ratings, April 2010)

Wow, no wonder our government is so far into debt... so are we!!

 

[94fordguy]

WOW!!!

 

[winter brew]

It's OK....Obama is going to pay our bills out of his "stash".

 

[MORSNO]

It is somebody else's fault! Nobody wants to take ownership for their own wasteful spending...CRAZY!

 

[ruffryder]

The scary thing, is that 123 Billion dollars are flowing to the credit card companies based for interest.

It is amazing that the people of the US (or I should say consumers..) demand the government stop wasting so much money, yet Americans waste 123 Billion a year from credit cards.

It is starting to make sense why the banks are so powerful. They have us by the balls with credit cards. They have us by the balls with 401k's becoming the mainstream retirement mechanism. So much of our money is in the hands of the banks that it is silly. I wonder what the debt / equity ratio is for most Americans. I bet it is close to 1, meaning on average, US citizens don't own anything, and the banks own it all.

Crappy position we are in, but we have done it to ourselves.

 

[skibreeze]

Hence the phrase, don't have a pot to piss in.

If people weren't so far in debt, they'd be even less likely to work hard.

 

[ruffryder]

If people weren't so far in debt, they'd be even less likely to work hard.

I would disagree with that statement. Prosperity breeds hard work, servitude yields laziness.

 

[SLEDPEDDLER]

This is all starts with education...

 

[christopher]

Dave Ramsey's phrase comes to mind.

Get Out of Debt.
Get Out of Debt.
Get Out of Debt.

If you can't afford to pay cash for it, then you really can't afford it.

 

[ruffryder]

This is all starts with education...

Which there is VERY LITTLE of when it comes to finances. Kind of why poor parents often times have poor children...

It is amazing that for how much money is involved and changes our lives, we rarely talk about it with other people, nor do we spend much time leaning about it in school.

Does that seem right?

 

[Hardass]

It's not just the consumer it is also our government spending on credit like crazy. The real sad part is the citizens of this once great country will not stand together and force anything to change. The people are so fractured and divided on evey thing that it probably never will.

 

[ruffryder]

Hardass, agreed.

What do you think is the link between our debt and government debt? Where or how do you think the causality is linked?

 

[Hardass]

What are you meaning by casualty?

 

[ruffryder]

Is the government in debt because we are in debt (we don't care enough about debt)?

Or are we in debt because the government is and we think it is ok?

Maybe that doesn't make any sense??

 

[Hardass]

First we are in debt because we think it is ok and it is how we were raised,It is our thinking process.our country has been on the gravy train for a long time confidence was high. This is no longer so coinfidence is very low.Do we care about debt some do most do not, it is to easy to make others responsible for what we have done. I see people that plan bankruptsy and get all the credit cards and credit they can before filing knowing full well what is coming.(very wrong but who cares right)

The government is in debt because there are few checks and balances in place and lets face it who is going to stop them? the american people? I highly doubt that we can't come together to save our a$$. It is not hard to see(if you take your blinders off) than were going down. Unless we can all stand up and say no more it will just continue, well untill it's over.Do'nt get me wrong we still live in a great place but i can not help but wonder for how much longer.I'm 50 and see some terrible things coming for us in the future. the debt we have will never be able to be repaid so lets start over HaHaHa

 

[Hardass]

Good lord i better get my medical weed out and calm down.

 

[03rmking]

Average credit card debt per household with credit card debt: $15,788*

This is written in a bit of a misleading way. This is simply reporting the average debt of households who use credit irresponsibly (ie, get into debt). But what about the majority of us who use it with some since of responsibility? According to the estimates, there are 54 million households with CC debt. Yet there are an estimated 115 million households in the US. So that would mean 47% use CC irresponsibly and 53% have zero CC debt.

I would take that further and guess of that 47%, a big majority have minimal debt (lets say under $1000 for arguments sake). And a smaller percentage account for the vast majority of that $15,788 average.

So to say the govt follows its people in terms of careless spending is BS. As the majority of Americans are far more responsible than our govt could ever dream to be.

 

[03rmking]

And for those who want to be enlightened about govt practices, finances, the economy, etc here is a great eye opening documentary.

 

[winter brew]

Is the government in debt because we are in debt (we don't care enough about debt)?

Or are we in debt because the government is and we think it is ok?

Maybe that doesn't make any sense??

Short term mentality.....spend $$ you don't have to impress the people you don't even like.
Government overspends in hopes of making themselves look good to the voters that benefit from $$ spent....job security in the next election. It's a vicious cycle that seems impossible to stop....the next guy has to outspend the previous. That's how my simple mind sees it.

 

[ruffryder]

This is written in a bit of a misleading way. This is simply reporting the average debt of households who use credit irresponsibly (ie, get into debt). But what about the majority of us who use it with some since of responsibility? According to the estimates, there are 54 million households with CC debt. Yet there are an estimated 115 million households in the US. So that would mean 47% use CC irresponsibly and 53% have zero CC debt.

Good catch!