Credit Card Debt Highest Since 2009

S

Son_of_Perdition

Senior Member
According to the Experian Market Intelligence Brief, consumers reached $650 billion in credit card debt as of the third quarter of 2015. It’s been right around 6 years since we’ve hit that level, dating back to the fourth quarter of 2009 when credit card debt was $667 billion.

What’s maybe most notable about this news is that we’ve yet to see numbers from this year’s holiday shopping season. So we’re likely to see consumer credit card for the fourth quarter of 2015 easily surpass that of the same time period 6 years ago.

The good news is, delinquency rates have decreased dramatically since 2009.

The bad news is, consumers are carrying billions of dollars in credit cards debt that’s costing them a pretty penny in interest fees.
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Didn't learn much.
 

A lot can be inferred, though. The "work ethic" adhered to by generations of 60-100 years ago seems replaced by the "gimme it now, and lots of it". My Dad never once bought a car, for example, on credit. Only the house, then paid it off as fast as possible.

That was a Slavic credo back then, brought to America from Europe. He would be horrified to see the debt structure today! imp
 
If some of these people stopped and added up all the money they are wasting on Interest Payments, they might understand why they never seem to get ahead. Virtually everyone will have to take on some debt...buying a house, for example....but to put everything on a credit card, then just paying the minimum balance, is a sure recipe for financial disaster.
 
It's all a game. What your outcome will be is how you choose to play the game. After 2007-08 (my personal 'Armagedgon') and my semi-forced retirement I chose to play the game closer to my chest. I had bought 2 autos within one year of each other. I had 3 credit cards and 2 retail cards, which I carried balances simply because of a my personal misunderstanding of how credit worked. Back in the 90's after the Reagan 'trickle down theory' the push was on to get on the band wagon of OPM (other peoples money). Charles Givens, Robert Allen and others were my inspiration. In 1991, I had just bought a larger home and was living the high life, never worrying about tomorrow, then late 2009 came and I was staring at my poor health choices and learning how to cope without a job. I survived since both health wise & financially. I slowly won my play and decided to get out of the game. As stated many times before I went cash/debit card only. It worked for me.

During that time when the government bailed out big business & even bigger banks I wasn't on that gravy train. I sold my home at a reduced (market value) price in 2011, sold my newest auto & paid off my oldest, and watched in dismay the plight other victims of our own decision making mistakes. I watched the auto market with interest. If you could reach the counter and had a few dollars to put down you could basically buy any car on the lot. Stimulate the economy was the cry, get out spend your savings, the interest rate is too low and your ROI was losing money. Buy, buy, buy was the banks underlying push to get your savings working for them. Qualifying for a home became easier after the lean years. Home sizes once again started large-sizing and the people were trading up because it made them look more prosperous.

The economy is a house of cards & the creative accounting used to figure the job market is a house of mirrors. The average wage has gone down and the pay & rewards for CEO's has gone through the roof. The banks started pushing the points, rewards & cash back offers to entice you to spend more, because they knew that a higher percentage of users will carry a balance (56-44%) than will pay off their balances monthly. Small steps for a greater gain. It's how casinos make their money. They don't want you to win but figure it's a cheap way to advertise & get others playing their games, in the end with the odds stacked against you they will win. The government economists wanted to create a make believe world that everything is coming up roses and you shouldn't be worried about the future. Big businesses have eliminated most pension plans and have quit matching your 401K's. It's now up to you to protect your future. Politicians are talking about raising the retirement age & reducing SS benefits, they can no longer pretend that SS is solvent simply because they started back in the 50's pilfering SS funds to build interstates, pay off war debt and fund other pork barrel legislation & never paying back the funds. USING OPM!

I choose no longer to play & will do what I have to protect my current situation!
 
Don M. said:
If some of these people stopped and added up all the money they are wasting on Interest Payments, they might understand why they never seem to get ahead. Virtually everyone will have to take on some debt...buying a house, for example....but to put everything on a credit card, then just paying the minimum balance, is a sure recipe for financial disaster.
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My late husband was a big fan of "others people's money" and operated under the delusion of it being a good thing to carry credit card balances. No matter how hard I tried, I could not convince him that the credit card companies LOVED taking HIS money in the form of interest every month... and THEY were the ones using OPM to THEIR advantage. So when he passed away... I paid everything off in full and have never carried a credit card balance since then. My credit rating is well into the 800's. I Do however take advantage of "OPM" on occasion. I have a brand new 2015 Jeep purchased on a 60 month ZERO% interest loan.. I also have a nice ring for myself on a No Interest for one year plan.. Builds MY credit and costs me noting in the way of interest.
 
911 said:
According to the National Debt Clock, credit card debt is at $923 Billion. Why are the numbers different? http://www.usdebtclock.org/
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Very good point, I can only assume the $923 Billion is what is currently charged against credit cards (the meter said 'Real Time') and the $650 Billion was what was carried over at the end of the 3rd quarter. Only 44% of the credit card users pay off their balances monthly according to reports so that would probably be the difference in what is charged and what is subject to monthly interest.

It'll be interesting to pull up the clock on Christmas morning to see what has been charged in the next 3-4 days.
 
We use our credit card as a convenience but if we charge a few hundred or more we pay it off in full so we never pay interest. My Credit score is well into the 800's.
 
AZ Jim said:
We use our credit card as a convenience but if we charge a few hundred or more we pay it off in full so we never pay interest. My Credit score is well into the 800's.
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Kudos to you and the other credit card users who pay off their balances monthly & maintain a stellar FICO score, I apologize for the misconception. I wallowed with the majority of users for years & now since my awakening that I was sadly mistaken, I am no longer in either the 44 or 56% group.
 
I understand banks are now offering what they call "credit builder loans" My son was looking into this.. but I remain skeptical. These are small loans of about $500 to $1500. SO you take out the loan.. and hold the money.. and pay it back... Perhaps not a bad idea if your credit is in the toilet and you need to do something about that. This is then reported as a positive to the major credit scoring companies..
 
QuickSilver said:
My late husband was a big fan of "others people's money" and operated under the delusion of it being a good thing to carry credit card balances. No matter how hard I tried, I could not convince him that the credit card companies LOVED taking HIS money in the form of interest every month... and THEY were the ones using OPM to THEIR advantage. So when he passed away... I paid everything off in full and have never carried a credit card balance since then. My credit rating is well into the 800's. I Do however take advantage of "OPM" on occasion. I have a brand new 2015 Jeep purchased on a 60 month ZERO% interest loan.. I also have a nice ring for myself on a No Interest for one year plan.. Builds MY credit and costs me noting in the way of interest.
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We, like most people, had to take out car and house loans in our younger years. However, for us, paying those loans off was a High Priority. We finally got out from under the house mortgage in the mid/late 1980's, and since then, I don't think we've paid a nickel in Interest. I just checked our FICO score on the Discover card, and it is 822...the only reason it isn't 850 is because we haven't paid any Interest on anything in 30 years. We run up a couple hundred on the Discover/Visa cards every month...just use them for convenience, or online shopping..and pay the full balance within a couple of days of receiving the bill. I plan to keep it this way forever....NUTS to the banks.
 

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