As inflation continues and Americans can’t afford basic needs like food and gas, they are turning to the plastic to keep their lives going. Visa, American Express, Mastercard…They are all getting a workout as Americans try to stay afloat in the Biden economy.
Whether Americans are trying to live above their means or within them, they don’t seem to be using cash for what they are buying.
The New York Federal Reserve said on Tuesday that for the first time ever, the aggregate balance of credit cards went over $1 trillion. In a CNBC [1] article, it was reported that “total credit card indebtedness rose by $45 billion in the April-through-June period, an increase of more than 4%. That took the total amount owed to $1.03 trillion, the highest gross value in Fed data going back to 2003.”
Household debt, in the meantime, edged higher by about $16 billion to $17.06 trillion, also another record.
Elizabeth Renter, data analyst at personal finance site NerdWallet, said, “Household budgets have benefitted from excess savings and pandemic-related debt forbearances over the past three years, but the remnants of those benefits are coming to an end… Credit card delinquencies continue an upward trend, a growing sign that consumers are feeling the pinch of high prices and lower savings balances than they had just a few years ago.”
What’s also up is delinquency rates. The CNBC report said, “The Fed’s measure of credit card debt 30 or more days late climbed to 7.2% in the second quarter, up from 6.5% in Q1.” Young Americans 18 to 29 had the highest credit card delinquencies, up 8.5% from the previous quarter. That will probably only rise with student loan payments scheduled to resume [2] in October after being Democrat-approved deadbeats for about three-and-a-half years.
Additionally, a new report by Bankrate [3] also shows that the debt on 47% of credit cards is being carried over month-to-month as opposed to the 53% of folks who pay their balance off every month. With an average interest rate of 20%, there is no relief in sight for many who can only pay a minimum payment every 30 days. Gen Xers (born 1965 to 1980), have the highest amount of folks who are carrying over their balances from month-to-month (52%), followed by Gen Z (born 1997 to 2012) and millennials (born 1981 to 1996).
Regardless of the rising interest rates, Americans are still buying things and using their credit cards to do so.
And they will until they can’t anymore.