100 million credit card accounts are gone since 2008 – Credit card balances decline by 22 percent since their 2008 peak.
Credit cards have been used as a lifeline and a way to live beyond one’s means in the United States for many years. Yet the current environment of deleveraging is hitting credit cards hard. The outstanding balance on credit card debt has reached a level last seen over a decade ago. This is positive since [...]
Hitting the credit card wall – Credit card debt contracts 17 percent as the grand American household deleveraging continues. Average household with credit card debt carries $16,000 at an average rate of 15% – Real broke housewives. Orange County California witnesses a 600 percent jump in bankruptcies.
Credit card debt has become a big financial albatross for many American families. According to the Federal Reserve Survey on Consumer Finance over 176 million credit cardholders exist in the United States. This is an amazing figure when you actually think about what a credit card is. A credit card essentially allows you to spend [...]
The endgame of the credit card nation – 40 year bull market in revolving debt expansion comes to a sudden halt. U.S. consumers on average have 4 credit cards with 1 out of 7 having 10 or more.
Credit cards are the gateway financial opiate of choice for many spenders. Banks understand that if consumers begin mistaking debt for actual wealth then this would lead to more willingness to borrow on bigger ticket items like cars and homes as the appetite for credit expands. This psychological gamble paid off multiple dividends over the [...]
Credit card withdrawal – Banks pull the plug on consumer revolving debt. Credit card debt outstanding contracts from nearly $1 trillion to $800 billion. Bankruptcies on the rise even with tougher bankruptcy laws.
When people talk about the credit bubble they typically refer to the housing bubble and the trillions of dollars of debt secured by real estate. Yet the credit bubble also applies to student loans, government debt, and those pesky wallet hugging credit cards. The American economy has embraced credit cards as quickly as apple pie [...]
The Futile Act of Saving in America Today – No Money Down Car Purchases, Low Down Payment for a big Mortgage, and High Interest Credit Cards for Everyday Spending.
This recession did change spending, at least for a few months. When the recession hit Americans had a negative savings rate, the first time ever we had the ability to spend more than we actually brought in. As the recession progressed, Americans did start saving and we took the personal savings rate to 6% (this [...]
Credit Cards the Opiate of the American Middle Class – The Withdrawal is in And the Wall Street Dealers are Raking in Trillions of Dollars. 2 Credit Cards for Every Man, Woman, and Child in the U.S.
If you want to know how reliant the middle class has become on credit cards all you need to know is that in circulation we have 631 million credit cards in the U.S. For a nation with slightly above 300 million people this is roughly 2 credit cards for each man, woman, and child. Credit [...]
The Anti-Savings Model – Offer 0.1% APY on Savings Accounts and Charge 15% on Credit Cards. A System Designed to Punish Savers and Encourage Extravagant Spending via Usury.
U.S. Banks have a solid incentive, dipped in gold, to keep people in a perpetual state of paying rent on debt while not saving a shiny penny. In fact, their ideal state of financial equilibrium for Americans would be one in which people spent every single penny from their earnings reaching the end of the [...]
631 Million Credit Cards for 113 Million Households – Credit Card Excess Contracting for First Time in 40 Years. How Plastic Hid Middle Class Financial Decay.
It is estimated that in 2010 we will have 181 million Americans carrying credit cards. Now this is interesting given that Census data from 2008 only shows 113 million households. The credit card is ubiquitous flowing through our economy like a river of easy money. Yet credit cards have become a major pitfall for many [...]
The Only Certain Bet in this Market is paying Down Debt. Credit Card Rates Rise as Other Interest Rates Drop. $866 Billion in Revolving Debt Still Remains.
The global economy remains on unstable footing as we see debt problems slam the European markets with Greece in the current spotlight. Yet the problem of debt is not unique to Greece itself and it is fascinating that the world is only focusing on one country. The average American over the past four decades has [...]
Credit Card Companies Pulling Back Credit Offers to American Households: Those Zero Percent Offers have now Turned into 30% Offers with Annual Fees. Banks have over $2 Trillion in Excess Reserves yet are unable to Offer a Decent Credit Card Rate.
Credit cards are ubiquitous like air in the American economy. Virtually every American that can qualify for a credit card has one (or many) in their wallet. Credit card companies have flooded the market with millions of plastic rectangles that have now come back to bite many American consumers. If we rewind back to the [...]
