Credit Card Debt

Credit card debt is defined as: The unpaid balance on all credit cards. This is not the minimum amount due, but is the total balance due on a respective line of credit.

• According to a study released by Bankrate, Inc. in February 2008:
  
  > 66% of Americans say debt is often the result of unfortunate circumstances beyond a person's control, while 60% say it is usually the result of bad decisions.
  
  > Americans have conflicting attitudes about debt. While 91% believe debt can be controlled by disciplined saving and spending, 72% also believe that debt is a part of modern life and difficult to avoid.
  
  > 64% of the people polled who carry debt admitted that debt is a cause of worry for them. In addition, the study found that men worry less than women about the debt they carry.
  
• In October 2007, credit card debt that was at least 30 days late totaled $17.6 billion, up 26% from October 2006. Some credit card companies, including Advanta, GE Money Bank and HSBC, are reporting a 50% increase in accounts that are at least 90 days late compared to the same time last year.
• U.S households received approximately 5.3 billion offers for new credit cards in 2007.
• According to a recent survey conducted by the National Association for Business Economics, the combined threat of subprime loan defaults and excessive indebtedness has overtaken terrorism and the Middle East as the biggest short-term threat to the U.S. economy. 32% of the survey participants cited loan defaults and excessive debt as the biggest threat, compared to only 20% citing terrorism as the biggest threat.
• The average interest rate for standard bank credit cards topped 19% in March 2007, compared to 16.5% in 2003.
   
• College students and their use of credit cards:
  
  > 43% of freshman owned a credit card, compared with 74% for 4th and 5th year students.
  
  > 41% of cardholders carried a balance from month to month, and the median amount was $1,000.
  
  > Approximately 25% of cardholders used their credit card to pay for tuition.
   
• In 1968, consumers’ total credit debt was $8 billion (in current dollars). Now the total exceeds $880 billion.
• There has been a 23% increase over the past 5 years in the number of credit cardholders who use cards that accumulate points for merchandise and/or airline tickets. 
• More than four out of ten young consumers between the ages of 18 and 21 who surf the Web now own a credit card, and 65% of these young consumers used the Web to apply for a credit card.
• At least one in ten consumers have more than 10 credit cards in their wallets. However the overall average number of credit cards per consumer is 4.
• 29% of low and middle income households with credit card debt reported that medical expenses contributed to their current balances.
• U.S. consumers racked up an estimated $51 billion worth of fast food on their personal credit and debit cards in 2006, compared to $33.2 billion one-year ago.
• Approximately half of all credit card holders don’t pay the full amount of credit card charges each month. About 11% say they usually pay only the minimum monthly payment but not much more.
• According to the Federal Reserve Bank, 40% of American families spend more than they earn.
• 23.8% of American households have no credit cards at all -- no bank cards, no retail cards, nothing. 31.2% of the households paid off their most recent credit card bills in full.
• One household in 50 carry more than $20,000 in credit card debt and represents more than 2 million American homes.
  

Debt Settlement can be the answer to excessive credit card debt:
Debt settlement offers you an intelligent solution to becoming debt free in a realistic time frame of 12 to 36 months. Debt Settlement reduces your total outstanding debt balances 40-60% by negotiating with your creditors to settle your accounts for an amount less than you owe. DebtDynamics.net has been highly successful at getting companies to accept the smallest settlement to satisfy your debts owed, and is the primary reason our clients are so happy with the results we achieve with reducing their outstanding principal balances. Debt settlement is the best debt reduction option as it creates an environment that benefits the consumer.  To speak to one of our highly trained Debt Settlement Experts about your individual situation, fill out the contact form below and we will contact you within 24 hours.  Debt Relief is on the way!