This report was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse
Americans are on an absolutely spectacular debt binge. Does this mean that the economy is getting better, or does this mean that U.S. consumers are totally tapped out and are relying on borrowed money to make it from month to month? On Monday, the Federal Reserve announced that total consumer credit in the United States increased by a whopping 24.6 billion dollars in May, which was far greater than the 12.4 billion dollar gain that economists were anticipating. Total U.S. consumer credit has now hit a grand total of 3.9 trillion dollars, but it is the “revolving credit” numbers that are getting the most attention. Revolving credit alone shot up by 9.8 billion dollars in May, and that was one of the largest monthly increases ever recorded. At this point, total “revolving credit” has reached a brand new all-time record high of 1.39 trillion dollars, and credit card debt accounts for nearly all of that figure.
The optimists will tell us that this is yet another sign that the U.S. economy is booming, and hopefully they are correct.
But does it really make sense for U.S. consumers to go on a historic debt binge when much of the country is already drowning in debt and just barely scraping by from month to month?
In a previous article, I pointed out that U.S. consumers have been spending more money than they make for 28 months in a row.
That certainly isn’t sustainable.
I also pointed out that 22 percent of all Americans cannot pay all of their bills in a typical month.
One way to keep things going is to use newer credit cards to pay off the older ones, and I am sure that most of us have been there at some point.
But we are getting to the point where American families are being absolutely overwhelmed by debt.
If you go all the way back to 1980, the average U.S. worker’s debt was 1.96 times larger than his or her monthly salary. In 2018, that number has skyrocketed to 5.00.
Is that healthy or unhealthy?
Overall, American households are now collectively 13.15 trillion dollars in debt, which is the highest level ever recorded.
So I would submit that rising consumer debt is not a good sign. Instead, I would suggest that it shows that our debt problems are accelerating.
And the numbers appear to support that hypothesis.
According to one recent survey, 42 percent of U.S. consumers said that they paid their credit card bill late “at least once in the last year”. And that same survey also found that 24 percent of U.S. consumers made a late payment “more than once in the last year”.
When you pay a credit card bill late, what happens?
Late fees kick in and interest rates shoot up, and that is when debt problems can really start to escalate.
Sadly, the mainstream media continues to encourage Americans to acquire and use credit cards in order “to build credit”…
Building your credit is one of the toughest but most necessary financial tasks when you’re entering the working world, and a credit card—when used correctly—can be a great tool to help you secure lower interest rates on a car or house loan.
According to Jill Gonzalez, an analyst at WalletHub, a credit card will help you in the long run. “Getting a credit card and using it responsibly helps people build their credit. Having good credit leads to getting better rates and paying less interest on loans such as mortgages, car loans, personal loans etc.”
Yes, credit cards can be useful tools as long as you keep them paid off.
Unfortunately, much of the country does not do that.
In fact, the same survey that I just referenced above discovered that 22 percent of all consumers believe that “carrying a balance on a credit card account actually helps improve a credit score”.
That isn’t true, but it is a myth that continues to float around out there, and the credit card companies are not exactly discouraging it.
Another reason to avoid using credit cards a lot is because thieves are becoming much more sophisticated.
This time of the year, electronic skimmers at gas stations are commonly used to steal credit card information…
Skimmers are small, electronic devices installed secretly at pumps and able to capture a swiped payment card’s protected data, the agency said. Commercial keys purchased online let fraudsters access pumps often left unattended, according to a report from ABC News.
Thieves then return later to retrieve the devices or transmit it remotely via Bluetooth, before using the information to make purchases, Matthew O’Neil, a representative of the agency, told the network.
Of course I am not saying that people should never use credit cards. They can make it much easier to shop and do business online, and I use them myself. But I always pay them off each month because credit card debt is one of the most toxic forms of debt.
Today, the national average for credit card interest rates is 16.92 percent. So let’s imagine a hypothetical for a few moments. If you are carrying a $10,000 balance at 17 percent, your minimum payment would typically be around $240 a month.
If you only make the minimum payment each month, it will take you 340 months to pay that credit card off, and over that time you will pay $13,607.46 in interest.
In other words, you will ultimately pay the credit card company $23,607.46 for the privilege of originally borrowing $10,000.
We live at a time when there is so much uncertainty, and if things take a substantial turn for the worse you definitely do not want to be struggling with credit card debt.
Because it typically carries such a high interest rate, credit card debt is usually one of the very first forms of debt that you want to get paid off. Unfortunately, they don’t teach our young people about the dangers of credit card debt in school, so many of them end up learning the hard way.
***
Michael Snyder is a nationally syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters.
Michael T. Snyder is a graduate of the University of Florida law school and he worked as an attorney in the heart of Washington D.C. for a number of years.Today, Michael is best known for his work as the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog and The American Dream.
If you want to know what is coming and what you can do to prepare, read his latest book [amazon text=Get Prepared Now!: Why A Great Crisis Is Coming & How You Can Survive It&asin=150522599X].
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America is facing colder winters, more rainfall, freakish weather events, reduced grain harvests, major disruptions in transportation of food and fuel. American families will need warmer clothing than in the past as well as long-term food supplies. They need to be making major improvements in their homes if they have roof problems and drafty windows. Their HVAC systems and automobiles need to be in good repair.
I have 3 Credit Cards. $25K in buying power. I say in all out SHTF, Max em all out since they are unsecured credit and screw the banks.
Always pay your secured debt first. Like your car pmt and mortgage. Never keep your believing income deposits in the same bank as your CC debt. Keep seperation of your assets and debts.
TSB,
You are a Pirate like Me.
I’m sure what “believing income deposits”, is
but if I think enough I’ll figure
it out.
Always keep assets and debts separate.
Keep in mind if SHTF really hits
your cards may not work and if they do
you know the data centers for banks are very
well protected, anonymous, and designed to
survive most SHTF.
Believing income. Was a type O. I meant Banking income Deposits. Yes keep your debts in one bank and your income streams in another credit union. I have 2 seperate credit unions. Debt at one, and the income in another. Banks have the right to use your income deposits to pay your debts. Read the fine print on your checking account. If its not in your hand its not your money. Convert your excess cash into silver bullion. .999 pure. 1 Oz rounds that will spend nicely in SHTF. Fiat money will become wortless. Unless you still Trust in God to create value. “In God we Trust” on the US Dollar is clever value added marketing scheme to dupe the Christians. Like “New and Improved” or “30% more” like God Trusts this Money so should you religious dopes. And it works like sheep to slaughter/ Dumb and Dumber. This Fed Reserve money scam has been going on for a hundred and 5 years now. Its an IOU debt instrument with no real value. A piece of promise paper. Demand from your emoloyeer you want to be paid in physical Silver, not direct deposit ACH digits. Ask for real money. PHYSICAL Silver or Gold for your work sallary. Crypto currencies are worse than money. Your balance can be hacked with a push of a button. Like then who can you go see face to face about your missing crypto life savings gone missing. If you cant hold it in your hand, you dont own it. Stay liquid and hide your wealth. They cant steal what they cant find. Lost that too in that boating accident.
“ demand that your employer pay you in silver”? Ain’t gonna happen….just yet. Cash is good but I’d keep a nice stash outside the banks in case of a run. The way I see it is if there’s a cyberattack, cash will be quite valuable but if the system collapses, Metal will be good for a bit. But only for a while because shit is gonna fly and you’ll be on your own
Brandon Smith the Liberal Arts, Self Taught, Alt Media Economic “GURU” believes that China will win the TRUMP Trade War. This guy doesn’t see it that way at all:
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-07-13/el-erian-why-us-winning-trade-war
Who are you going to believe ??? 🙂
Two points at hand: Get out of debt but use credit card to gas up because if a credit card info is stolen, the banks WILL search for its money. Conversely, if a debit card information is stolen, the banks WILL NOT search for your money. Use a credit card but pay it off when the bill comes due. Better yet, use cash for all retail based transactions. After all, the cash is still alive…for now.
Informed. True, the only thing you use your debit card for is taking cash out of your own Banks ATM machine. Never use your debit card to purchase anything. It can be hacked and your entire bank balance stolen and you get a pile of bounced checks and NSF Fees $35 each. One mistake can wipe you out and cost you a lot of money. Banks are not responsuble for your hacked debit card or the return of your bank balance. So wise to use a credit card for purchases like online where you have Zero liability if your CCard is hacked or stolen. They are stealing Visa and Master Card’s money and not yours. Be smart. The rippoffs, scams, hacks, thefts are coming faster and more frequent. Be safe and smart. Dont be a whiny victim. You have been warned here over and over how to survive.
When you get your credit card bill, note the return address. The company will be in the state which has the most relaxed usury laws. I will not hold my breath, but wouldn’t it be nice if there was a NATIONAL DEBT LIMIT LAW which capped the interest on ALL credit card purchases at 10%? I am sure our conscientious representatives who inhabit Mordor-On-The-Potomac will get right on that.
It’s my fault the numbers are up. I’ve got a credit card that pays me a % to use it so I have been, but I pay it off every month. Is that OK?
Oh yeah that would be great.
Then people would just buy MOAR PLASTIC SHITE.
Speaking as a former plastic shite buyer.
You have a credit card/use it/pay off monthly/increase cards and limit lines/go on a spree as things openly fall apart(timing tough)on goods you need or need more of(you know what I mean!),and,country is fucked and will never catch up to you,your timing sucked/declare bankruptcy and move on(with your goods!).
Hell with the fed reserve/central banks/imf!
”Late fees kick in and interest rates shoot up,”
I thought congress passed a law making that impossible now.
DEBT, although sometimes necessary as in buying a house, is never good. Some investors will suggest you can make a ton-of-money by borrowing & investing (in their product) but the buyer must be aware he is terribly vulnerable while he owes (caveat emptor).
Many wise contributors here, like Braveheart & others, have advised against debt. Pay attention to them as they give good advice.
The fact that the level of consumer debt has been allowed to get to such a high level speaks badly of our system. Lenders are happy to get the level of return and would prefer that the debt never be paid off as long as the borrower can pay the interest. Any serious economic disaster only gets worse when the default rate shoots up. Then the lenders face trouble and start looking for the Treasury to bail them out. Didn’t we learn anthing from 2008? (The 2008 bank bailout was the greatest robbery of the Treasury in history.)
Usury is a sin. Charging interest at an exorbitant rate is still forbidden under Christian values and is sinful.
People think they can control spending, but often err in estimating how much to spend. It is ass backwards to spend before saving. Teach children to save up money in order to buy things. You can make them a savings book and keep the money for them or give them a piggy bank and supervise them closely. Children enjoy this process. It helps them understand how money works. It is a parent’s responsibility. Explain the dangers of usury and it’s consequences.
_
I don’t think its Christians that own the Credit Card Companies
Actually those companies are “owned” by stockholders. Rephrasing this with who (generally) runs the banks is certainly a valid analysis.
Pagan Christians and Heebs. With a few agnostics thrown in for diversity.
Explain the danger of bad grammar and its consequences.
Explain the danger of bad grammar and its consequences.
The problem is this: all modern societies are consumption and consumer societies. It is how they tick. It is impossible to roll that back or to try and fight it. All modern economies eventually wrap themselves around serving the comfort needs of their populations. And that is clever. Making people comfortable presents many business opportunities. Go to countries where this doesn’t happen and see what life is like there. It is HARD.
Because of computers we can endlessly generate credit (debt). Every once in a while the system will hit tilt but it then re-boots and starts again.
As for the individual, you need to obviously generate wealth and savings for yourself. Do that and you will prosper within the consumer society. It is just less stressful to do so. But always keep in mind you are sucker to pay taxes. Instead, take your surplus and invest in things that hold value: real estate, growing companies, assets, etc. And then set up a family trust to keep the government away from your long-term wealth. Do like Trump and file as a bankrupt every year. That way the government has nothing it can take.
You can only take care of yourself. Trying to tell others what they should do is pointless. they have to be responsible for their own debt.
I’m debt-free so I don’t have that problem. I’ve always lived within my means. I don’t make enough money to qualify for credit so my cars have to come from private owners for cash. That’s the only way I can get a car, period. I guess $44000 per year BEFORE deductions is considered LOW income in today’s dollars.
DP
$44K in income W/O debt (assuming with medical insurance) is far better than $60K with 12 K in mortgage over your head. You won’t be homeless, the other might be.
Kevin2, whenever Memphis appears ready to blow up, I can be at the BOL in 6 hours. Long drive, yeah, but at least I’ll have a new home. Once the balloon goes up, I’ll be here for life. It’s a shame I have go back home Sunday. {SIGH} Time flies when you’re having fun.
Stuck down deep on the Florida peninsula I’m trapped like the troops at Bataan in WWII. Doesn’t matter, health isn’t in my favor anyway for any protracted hardship. Living off the land was 15 years and a couple of heart attacks ago.
Keep your gas tank filled at all times for that 6hr drive. Its liable to be a surprise.
Wouldn’t hurt to have an extra gas can filled at all times for shoulder of the road refueling.
Kevin2, sorry to hear about your situation. The internet is my primary means of keeping tabs on everything plus I have my own ‘local sources’ in Memphis. My tank is full at all times and just as ready as everything else. I’ve already got 99% of my supplies in the storage building behind the cabin. When I get the signal, I can be loaded up and rolling in just a matter of minutes. Take care.
The Deplorable Braveheart
How do you keep your supplies secure from thieves and vandals when your not there?
Kevin2, I have a cousin who lives on site there all the time and other relatives close by to help just in case. She sleeps with a 9mm at her bedside along with a Mossberg 500. She also has my cell number any time something happens over there to keep me informed. In the 5 years I’ve kept supplies there, only one incident has taken place and that was only 2 weeks before I got back there. She was having a cookout with some of the family there when it happened. One of the relatives heard a noise out at the storage building and grabbed a loaded AR-15 out of his truck to go investigate. Sure enough a hoodlum was trying to pry open the door and ended up staring down the business end of 5 different weapons pointed at him. He was a drifter who was stoned on something. He was held at gunpoint while the local sheriff was called and he was hauled away. No supplies lost. My family has proven themselves to me time and again so no worries there.
That dopehead took one helluva chance and was brazen enough to attempt to break into a storage building with 5 ARMED PEOPLE RIGHT THERE ON SITE.
Question answered; someone is keeping an eye on it. I don’t know how one can do it any other way. Thats the Achilles heel of a BOL. Maybe if stuff was stored at a reliable storage place that was watched day to day and in a trailer might work if your early enough. The shelter would still be vulnerable to vandalism.
The perp got all the way in the property and was prying on the door latch? You got some major holes in your BOL security. Got a barbed wire fence? How about no trespassing digns? Motion detectors? A guard dog? WTF? All these years and a druggy is prying the latch open? What if it were 5 hoodlems with guns. You folks are toast. Sounds like lots of holes in your security there Mr Door knob security guard walmart greeter. But you are only 6 hours away from all your preps. Sound like a full mission fail in planning phase.
I think the dopehead saw the shed a easy pickins. No security he can walk all the way on the property up to a shed and start prying on the door. LMFAO!!! No barking dogs, no alarms or even a fence or gate, no motion detectors? LOL. And Dep BH shooting off his mouth in town he is back at his BOL where he keeps a year of supplies stored in his Cuz’s shed blowung his OPSEC.
You live in an illusion dude. And just 6 hours drive and across state lines. WTF if your old used vehicle you paid cash for and full of preps breaks down on the highway getting there? Abandon the reat of your preps in the van and set off on foot for another 360 miles? Lol. Thats a plan for lots of what if failures.
People live in an illusional cloud of stupidity. Thanks for the laugh.
What happened to the shoot shovel and shut up strategy? And you called 911? Lmfao!! That prick set foot on my property he wudda been shot dead on the spot. Then wood chipper and the body frag debris shot into the canal as gator chum. We dont call 911 out here. We are 911.
Your perp will be back on the streets and will be back again and again next time armed and with others. You screwed up.
DBH: Unlike you some of us do not live with our parents as adults. Many of us have families and real responsibilities.
DB
You make more than me, I live in Hawaii, I’m retired on a fixed income and have two credit cards counting my wife’s, that were obtained after I retired. One for her one for me. We are considered low income here. You can get a CC. Just remember to pay the card off every month.
I pay cash for cars too.
Kevin2, there’s someone there at the property at all times and there’s always someone at home at the relatives’ homes within a 3-mile radius of the place. I know my family better than anyone else does. I’ve been there for them on certain things and now they’re returning the favor until I finally move there permanently. I think that day is coming a lot faster than I thought.
Oh you got back up security 3 miles away. Well that is certainly reassuring when seconds count. LMFAO!! A BOL Dep BH has been braging about for 4 years and there is no security but a key lock latch on a shed that can be pryed off. Brilliant there Dep BH. Maybe you can put up a courtesy sign that says please dont steal.
A wake up call for the rest of you armchair pretend peppers. Got sand bags and a look out post on your weak points of your property? Lanes of fire to take out approaching threats before they become threats? Cameras, secirity in layers.
I said many times in here. If all you got between you and the perps on the street is a thin vineered front door with a deadbolt, you are dead meat in SHTF. If you got no security but a latch on a shed. You will be hit again and again.
Braveheart will be along soon enough to remind us that he has no credit cards or debt. Not even a car payment. Pays cash for everything. 3, 2, 1 ……….
Haha, looks like I was right about Braveheart. His post was still in moderation when I posted my comment. Never misses a chance to tell us the same thing, over and over.
A lot of us prepper types are out of debt.
No debt is just another layer of security for times of disaster. It makes the recovery run a lot smoother.
No debt equals more freedom. Don’t sell out your future for shiny trinkets.
No debt means more ammo…….cool.
Be safe…..moar ammo…lol…BA.
Bad American, agreed. NO debt=more purchasing power for preps.
Anonymous, you missed my post by almost 20 minutes, LOL. Better luck next time.
Braveheart,try to have some pity for Anonymous, he’s just mad that your smarter then he is because you have no debt. All the while he’s stuck with 100 grand in student loans for his useless degree in Pan African gender studies.
BraveH, You know damn well your post wasn’t there when I submitted mine.
You had already typed yours, but it doesn’t count until it’s through moderation and actually posted and yours wasn’t yet posted 19 minutes after you submitted it.
Better luck next time trying to fool us, LOL,
We all know our comments go into moderation and are not instantaneously posted or posted 19 minutes later. Nice try though.
I’m not the only one here who knew you were going to post, the same shit you always post and what you already posted 100x before. And we knew this BEFORE your post appeared. Every chance you get, like every ten threads, you tell us what we already know. You’re either boasting or telling us what we already know.
If you’re not doing that you’re flip flopping on Trump depending on if his decisions are personally affecting YOU, with no concern for your fellow man, only for yourself. Or you’re on here boasting and bragging about saving yourself while surrounded by a heavily armed marksmen swat team. Yeah, the shtf tough guy. LOL.
If you had never mentioned you’re in your 60’s I’d think you were in your teens based upon your comments. And not the few informative ones you copy & paste from other sources.
I don’t like you because you brag and you know what they say about braggarts AND because the only person you give a shit about is yourself, the UN-American way to be.
DB and anon: I pay off our Visa every month, only use it to buy online via pay pal. Also got Am Exp prepaid from Wal Mart for online and eating out as it’s safe. No one skims/ steels info and makes copies from a prepaid card anyway.
Prepaid CC can be hacked just as easy as any other card. You sound very uninformed laura ann.
Ive been in the credit card business for over 25 years and deal with card security. I also make a living off of card transactions and get a percentage of the fees collected. In 25 years I have made about a million dollars on fees and equipment leasing and sales. The credit card business has been a great asset for me. So keep using your cards folks, as I am the toll booth collector on the credit card financial highway. Thanks for your business folks, and come again.
Dep BH Has no credit cards bacause he has no credit to even get a credit card. Hes a bad credit risk. So paying cash is his last and only option left. On the verge of being homeless cause he own no Real estate assets. $44K a year and still broke and asset poor. Oh hea real smart for sure, right Cuz? So just go squat on Cuz’s property. Thats giod till they kick you off the property, then you live in a van down by the river. Why dont you buy your own property next to Cuz’s so you havr your own place and stop mooching off if Cuz? And a BOL 6 hours away with no security. Another plan to fail.
“…Credit Card Debt Soars…”
Better hope the debt keeps going up because when it flatlines or decreases (as a whole) the system will freeze up and crash…same as in 2008.
16.92% interest? Seems like a pretty high APR? Ten years ago, when they raised my CC interest rate above 12%, I cancelled it and got one with 7% APR. It has gone up to 7.75% with the Fed’s increases but that is still good enough for me. If you search the internet, you can probably get one cheaper than 16%. That’s how I found this one I have now.
Credit cards are the wet dream of the globalist cabal.
The shiny object to attract the weak, “math challenged”
irresponsible college kids, whose parents paid for their
“party college” education.
Educated and wise…. only used credit when absolutely
nessassary….and paid it off immediately before due.
Credit companies black balled those who would not use them
with ” You have no credit score….so we will not approve you
for a loan”
A banking ploy of the highest. They encourage debt. That is
their bread and butter.
Don’t get sucked into it !!!
People like Obumhole exist to make you broke and submissive.
No debt no credit cards. I don’t care what others do or don’t do.
No debt, like the credit card, pay it off immediately upon use. Get flyer miles and secure use with merchants especially on line where I would never use my debit card
I wonder if many are maxing out on ammo and preps? Before it’s too late?
Super glue on cash deposits of a few small bills, works wonders on jamming up ATM machines. Injectable foam works great on those fancy parking meters. Costs the banksters thousands to fix. Mailing back the junk mail they send you to sign up for new cards to the CEO is priceless ? they get so pissed that the CEO receives the junk mail they send you. Hit them where it hurts, in their pocket. The solar panels when covered with cardboard prevent parking meters from working. F@$k them all.
Gold is the money of kings, silver is the money of gentlemen, barter is the money of peasants and debt is the money of slaves.
simple math on the $10,000 example says a person is pay $69 in interest every month and over $800 in interest every year.
you might share that with anyone you know of you think is likely to have a big credit card debt.
let someone know that they are throwing out nearly $1000 yearly in interest payments just to have the latest everything and they may have a rational thought on responsibility, maybe
Lena: People won’t listen to anything promoting common sense thinking. I’m retired and know this to be a fact, whcih is why I don’t do very little interacting socially. People are basically stupid in practical matters.
lena help me out, I failed simple math, but I’m trying to figure out how a 10,000 dollar debt at 17% interest is paying over $800 per year in interest. I guess the “over” $800 is the answer.
I do not use credit cards period and have no such debt
If you think credit card debt is “unsecured” I have a bridge I wanna sell ya!
New Bankruptcy laws no longer allow one to discharge credit card debt!
So when you default on credit card debt the bank remands that debt to a collection agency who are usually attorneys; they have the authority and means to attach anything and everything you own including your home to satisfy the debt!
What do you think is going to happen when these folks cant pay and can’t get debt relief?
Don’t take the bait – get out of debt if you can, you’re less likely to become a slave to the system when it does CRASH!
To each their own…
But, for those of us who strictly use cash, it means no tracking of resources, no accumulating interest possibilities, and more. Privacy is a major concern for some of us. Does this hamper things? Sure, but we work around it.
Again, to each their own…
Face it….we live in a debt-fiat based system. Debt can work against you, or work for you. Its all dependent on the type of debt, IR rate, etc…example: you borrow money at 5%, and get a return on that borrowed money of 8%. This is good debt, as it has netted you 3%. I got a VA loan of 3.5% on my home 5 years ago. But it has been going up in value at a rate of 6%/yearly. This means a 1.5% win for me. No brainer…and actually the 3.5% interest payment is tax deductible, so its more like a 2% win. Going in debt to finance an education is also good debt. Provided you get a degree in something valuable…not a worthless degree in social sciences, liberal arts, etc…like so many foolish kids today. All other consumer debt (credit cars, autos, dept stores, etc…) is BAD debt. A fools road to insolvency. This is the debt that the evil banksters use to enslave the masses. And when the masses can’t pay the debt back (as in the last finacial crisis), they use their evil compadres in the government to bail them out with the treasury and steal the masses assets. Which was the greatest theft in human history in 2008……If you ever do anything for yourself, get out of debt. Like quitting smoking. And become a free person again.!!!!!!