(VitalNews.org) – According to a new survey by Bankrate, it’s said that 56 million people are carrying credit card debt.
Avoiding a recession in 2023 meant that Americans were spending enough money to avoid one, but then came the debt. 58% of people or 56 million people have been in credit card debt for at least a year. Bankrate based this on a survey they did on 1,800 credit card holders where 873 of them were carrying a credit card balance.
It’s said that many credit card holders are not spending recklessly, but rather they are using credit cards for things like emergencies and medical bills, which can make credit card bills harder to pay off especially since they tend to be larger expenses.
According to Bankrate, Americans have $1 Trillion in credit card debt and this is the first time that the debt has reached this height. It’s not surprising considering the climbing interest rates and inflation that have affected everyone’s finances.
“We’ve been seeing this for a while, with more people carrying more debt for longer periods of time. It’s moving in the wrong direction,” Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate said.
Ted Rossman says that opening an account with a 0% interest rate and a 21-month grace period could help you tackle your credit card debt without racking up more debt in the meantime. He also says to talk to a credit counselor or call the credit card issuer to see if they can help you in any way by pausing payment or extending due dates.
Rossman stresses that credit card debt is one of the largest holders of debt and so it makes it just that much more important to pay it off. “Credit card debt is the highest by a wide margin, so it has to be at the top of the list for debt payoff efforts,” said Rossman.
He admits that inflation is making things hard but that it’s important for credit card users to prioritize and make adjustments where needed to pay it off, especially since this is the highest the total credit debt has been according to records.
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