America’s end-of-year spending and payment results are in, and consumers did worse than expected.
They racked up $52.4 billion in credit card debt during the fourth quarter of 2015, according to CardHub’s “2015 Credit Card Debt Study,” released Monday.
This build-up nearly equals the total amount added to America’s collective debt in 2014, $57.4 billion, and leaves the nation with a $71 billion net increase in credit card debt for 2015.
As a result, the average household with credit card debt now owes $7,879 and the nation far surpassed $900 billion in credit card debt – a mark last reached in 2007 during the ramp up to the financial system’s 2008 collapse.
If the nation doesn’t see a record-setting debt paydown during the first quarter of the year, when consumers get tax refunds and annual salary bonuses, and it continues to add debt at this rate, it won’t be long before default rates begin to rise and credit availability tightens, the report said.
If you have debt that’s troubling you and want help reducing it, you can take a look at the report’s debt repayment strategies.
Another resource helpful to consumers is working with a certified consumer credit counselor. To find one in your area, call 800-388-2227 or go to the website of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
