10 mo. ago • 98%

56 million Americans have been in credit card debt for at least a year. ‘We are seeing pockets of trouble,’ expert says

www.cnbc.com 56 million Americans have been in credit card debt for at least a year. ‘We are seeing pockets of trouble,’ expert says

More Americans carry credit card debt from month to month as living expenses stay high, according to a new report by Bankrate.

24 comments

I wonder, could it be because prices of everything except gasoline have jumped 60% in the past 2-3 years for no real reason?

67
- Be fair. Gasoline and an hour's work.
  
  27
- Permanently Deleted
  
  8
  
  An easier way to say it is:
  
  When you're half dead and need to be fed: liquid bread!
  
  11
  
  I’ve seen some alcohol go up a fair bit… a bog Jim Beam pint used to be $9 around Denver and now is $11-14 at many places, and a lousy half pint of Vidal Sassoon or whatever (oh, Paul Masson) went from $4 to $6. Depends on the state and the store though I guess.
  
  6
- This still boggles my mind. My Old Spice pomade jumped from $4-$5 for 2.6 oz container to $10 for a 2.4 oz container and I'm supposed to go about my day thinking this is how things should be right now? Granted it's somewhat of a luxury item and there are various other products that are similar or even worse that are more of a necessity, but it proves my point in how much products have jumped in price for no fucking reason other than greed.
  
  7
  
  There’s so much stuff now that I’ll only buy if it’s on sale… and the sale price is what a regular price was 2 years ago.
  
  5
It's because of avocado toast according to boomers (definitely not because of wealth inequality and the top 200 net worth individuals owning 30% of all American wealth and squeezing the living shit out of the middle class)

45
- What else can it be?
  
  The economy is doing great!
  
  *Gestures to increased fossil fuels productiona and billionaires doubling their wealth
  
  Obviously everything is fine!
  
  26
Only a year? Look at mister fancy pants paying off his credit cards.

lol

21
Hey look, an article about me

21
Doesn’t help that even great credit scores give cards that have a rate of 17%+. That’s insane. It shouldn’t be a surprise since the CC companies want us in debt so they make money. I mean, duh.

19
Finance your coffee with Affirm today!

9
One of my credit cards offered me a 0% deal for a year. I used it to have work done on my house. Why WOULDN'T I carry that balance for a year and pay it off?

5
- Because it's pending exposure.
  
  Now if you found a way to turn around and earn interest or earn extra with that money...now you're cooking with gas. Just make sure the earnings are worth the relative risk, and that you hedge against that risk.
  
  4
I refuse participate in credit. I've never checked my credit score, I have never been in debt to a corporation. All of my debt as been to individuals.

Whenever I talk to other about this to other people they just keep pushing the idea that I should know my credit score "just in case" (despite the fact I own my home already, bought it on owner finance) and then go on a speech about how I should get a credit card and and use it and pay it off every month to build my credit slowly over time.

I 100% understand that my individual situation, having bought a car by paying it over a few months, and buying a house on owner finance directly from an individual, aren't solutions that just anyone can use and it requires a great deal of luck, which is not the point of my comment. My point is that so many people think credit debt is actually necessary, that it's required. They keep trying to sell me on the idea, but I just don't see it. I don't want to be in debt for 30 years to buy another home, I have 0 fucking interest in that. And yet, I've had at least 10 instances where someone tries to sell me on the idea of credit like its a DARE style anti Marijuana video from 2005.

I mean, no fucking wonder houses cost so much (and by extension, rent). It's not the fault of those in debt, it's the fault of the system who convinced them they NEEEED to be in debt.

4
- It's still worth using cards for the rewards points. I just set mine to auto pay and enjoy having everything I buy 3-5% cheaper, plus way better purchase protection and customer service. I've never paid a cent in interest or accrued any debt whatsoever.
  
  And if for some reason you ever do need a loan, it's a lot easier to get one with a credit history. It sucks that it is that way but it's ridiculously easy to get a score well into the 700s if you just auto pay a credit card.
  
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