Credit card debt is tough. While the facts below may not put a smile on your face, they may help reassure you that you are not alone in your journey to live debt-free.
- 80% of American households have at least one credit card. (Source: www.cardweb.com)
- Total credit card debt in the United States: a whopping $800 billion. (Source: www.cardweb.com and the Federal Reserve)
- Average household or individual debt (or both) is about $9,300 per household holding at least one credit card. (Source: www.cardweb.com)
- The average undergraduate is carrying $3,173 in credit card debt. (Source: Sallie Mae, “How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards,” April 2009)
- 81% of people are very or somewhat unlikely to talk to someone they just met about credit card debt, the same percentage that would be unlikely to talk about details of their love life. (Source: CreditCards.com research, January 2009)
- Each cardholder owns an average of seven credit cards — three bank credit cards and four store or gas credit cards. (Source: www.cardweb.com)
- In 2010, each cardholder is carrying an average of $5,100 in credit card debt. (Source: www.money-zine.com/Financial-Planning/Debt-Consolidation/Consumer-Debt-Statistics)
- 21% of consumers believe they are treated unfairly by credit card companies. (source: www.consumerreports.org, September 2009)
Credit to ABC News , CreditCards.com , and Hoffman Brinker for gathering these facts.
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