I was preparing a blog post about how Americans were getting their act together on credit cards. Specifically, that our rate of late payments was the lowest in 5 years, suggesting that we were getting our financial houses in order, paying down debt, getting on the right track, etc, But, just now, I see that…
Consumer credit climbed more than forecast in May, led by the biggest jump in credit-card debt in almost five years that may signal Americans are struggling to make ends meet. Bloomberg.com
The continuing soft job market seems to be the culprit, putting a damper on consumer confidence. But, there are things we must have and, it appears, we are now putting them on the ol’ plastic. The sad thing is, whether this is healthy or not, business and government don’t seem to care—as long as you are spending!
As for me, I had my share of youthful credit mistakes. I cleaned it up, paid it off and I haven’t looked back. But these are tough times. How are you handling it? More credit purchases? Less? Charging but paying it off quickly? Let us know!
(photo: flickr.com)
WE GOT ALL OF OUR CREDIT CARDS PAID OFF AND KEPT ONE FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY. UNFORTUNATELY, DURING THE LEAN TIMES, THINGS COME UP. AN UNEXPECTED DENTIST BILL, A VISIT TO THE DOCTOR AND MEDS, AND EVEN GAS…….NOW WE HAVE A CREDIT CARD DEBT AGAIN. WE DON’T LIKE IT, BUT THERE WAS NO OTHER WAY TO STAY AFLOAT…….SIGH…….
about the same here ,
i don’t use credit . if i can’t pay for it i don’t buy it
we are in a new era and Americans have to learn to use their resources right or we will not survive in these times and times that are coming
personally i think the credit card and banking laws
are designed to help financial institutions to charge more for anything they please .
i think the worst is yet to come
i know people that are spending on their credit cards to buy groceries and pay bills in order to get buy . personally i think they are headed for trouble .
the gov. claims the economy is stabilizing but i don’t see any sing of millions of jobs making a return anytime soon if at all
no debt is good debt .its time to get realistic about our culture and how it is changing . with globalization our way of life may never be the same again
Thankfully I still have a job, but I now use my credit cards for almost every purchase to earn cash back and reward points. As long as I pay the full balance on the credit cards each month, it works great. But if I ever got to the point were I had to carry a balance, the interest rates would easily negate any rewards I earned.
No credit cards in years. If we can’t afford it we don’t buy it. We’ve seen very lean times, but God has always provided when we didn’t know how we’d pay the bills or buy groceries.
I do not use credit cards. We paid all our cards off years ago. Now if I really need something I will check QVC or HSN and use their flex pay. They let you order and you get to pay it off in 2-6 payments which are auto deducted from your debit account. This has worked for me.