When you found yourself overwhelmed with personal debt, you probably felt incredibly alone – and a bit embarrassed. Debt just isn’t something people feel comfortable talking about, so they try to hide their situation. Statistics show, however, that while people may not be talking to their friends about debt they are certainly experiencing it in record numbers.
- The average American carries $8,562 in credit card debt.1
- In May 2002, U.S. consumer debt surpassed disposable income.2
- Approximately 35 million Americans pay only the required minimum payment on their credit cards each month, often as low as 2 percent of the balance.3
- A 2007 survey of Americans showed nearly half of Americans say losing ten pounds would be very or somewhat difficult for them in 2007, while 31% say paying off all their credit card debt would be difficult.4
- More than 40% of Americans with at least one credit card have a credit card that is within 5% of its credit limit.5
- Credit experts expect the amount of bankruptcy filings to return to their pre-2005 (pre- Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005) levels in 2007.6
- Two-thirds (65.7%) of 4-year undergraduate students graduate with some debt. Those students leave college owing an average student loan debt of $19,237 (excluding PLUS Loans but including Stafford, Perkins, state, college and private loans).7
- Motley Fool
- The Bureau of Economic Affairs
- Frontline, PBS
- TransUnion and Roper
- The Pelorus Group, "Stored Value: 21st Century Currency"
- The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, “Bankruptcy Law Anniversary Survey”
- 2004 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS)
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