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 [...]
Student loan shark industry – total revolving debt contracts during recession while student loan debt increases by a stunning 80 percent on an annual basis. A college degree for working at McDonald’s?
College sticker shock is probably stunning many parents as college aged students now sign their intent to register at thousands of schools across the country. You can almost feel the panic when Johnny or Suzie tells mommy and daddy she is going to University of Break the Bank while they watch their home equity plummet. [...]
The privateers of education – How banks collude with the government to inflate college costs. Student loan debt now surpasses total credit card debt.
One of the more ominous statistics coming from this recession is that student loan debt has now surpassed total credit card debt in the United States. The reason for this is based on the deep impact of the recession. Credit card debt peak at $975 billion back in September of 2008 and is now down [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Credit Card Companies Placing Financial Landmines for American Consumers: How I lost my 4.99 Percent Fixed Rate and got it Back.
Americans have a love affair with credit cards. Many Americans have more credit cards in their wallets than they do dollar bills. When 8,000,000 credit cards were yanked from circulation many consumers realized that this was a new era of austerity. Credit card debt otherwise known as revolving debt, peaked in September of 2008 at [...]
The New American Austerity: Getting By with Less Debt and Less Money. In What Sectors are Americans Spending Less Money?
The Census Bureau reported on Wednesday that for the month of April retail sales came in at $337 billion, a decrease of 0.4 percent from the month before. The market reacted to this news and headed lower. If we pry into the data beyond the headline number, we will see that retail sales are actually [...]
Credit card companies shut down 8 million credit card accounts in February while accepting more Bailout Credit Cards from the U.S. Treasury. 400 Million Credit Card Accounts still open.
Many American households have been strapped for money for many years. The benefit of having a debt bubble is the ability to cover up troubling economic trends and drown out any noise while people feed at the bubble. During this time, credit was easily accessible and many families used credit cards as a bridge loan [...]
The Red, White, and Blue Queen’s Race: The Economy Reverts to Historical Inflation Patterns: Stock Market and Real Estate Fall back in Line with Inflation. Working Harder Just to Stay in the Same Spot.
The Red Queen’s race is a situation that appears in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass where one has to run faster and faster just to remain in the same spot. Imagine a treadmill that increases in speed every 10 minutes yet you don’t burn calories at the higher rate. Many Americans are feeling as if [...]
Bank Charge-off Rate Highest Since 1992 for Commercial Banks: Credit Cards, Revolving Debt, and the Contraction of Credit.
Charge-off rates are now at a 17 year high since commercial banks are writing off real estate loans, consumer loans, leases, agricultural loans, and other construction loans. The FDIC is going to be bombarded with hundreds of bank failures in the upcoming years simply because their balance sheet does not have the ability to support [...]
