But wouldn't it be stupid to pay off all of your credit card debt just before you die?!
Regards,
Posted on 05/12/2026 10:39:14 PM PDT by delta7
Survey finds 42% of people feel like they’ll have credit card debt until they die
Americans collectively owe $1.3 trillion in credit card debt, with the average household carrying more than $11,000 in balances.
John Kiernan, managing editor at WalletHub, said people are struggling with credit card debt.
A new WalletHub survey found about 2 in 5 people say they expect to have more credit card debt by the end of this year.
“And 42 percent of Americans feel like they’ll have credit card debt until they die,” Kiernan said. “So, it’s an expensive thing that’s kind of eating away at a lot of people. And people don’t feel like they have a way out...
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I just received a great card ad from a bank up to $10,000 at 28%-35% interest.
Seems a little steep?
Kids getting these? College kids to get four and six year degrees with $200,000 student loans and living off credit cards at that interest? Is that slavery?
Because who can pay off that much? 3.5 years at 300 a month just for the 10k?
>> 3.5 years at 300 a month just for the 10k?
Apparently “college kids” don’t learn much math at the “U”. Or they ignore it. Or something.
Doing our part!🫨
Maybe they think they’ll be so smart their first entry level job will pay it all off including the $200,000 at 13-22%?
That would have been me except I spent a month in a Panama hospital with no insurance and would up returning to the U.S. and filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. I didn’t want to do it but it does bring peace of mind to know I’m no longer on the credit card treadmill. I just live month to month and gradually got my life back. I just need to avoid any major expenses.
Luckily, the government stepped in years ago to protect me from accruing debt at those predatory single-digit rates I used to enjoy maintaining.
When I get home on the 20th, I’ll have my credit card debt cleared up.
But wouldn't it be stupid to pay off all of your credit card debt just before you die?!
Regards,
One of our kids has astronomical credit card debt. He also has a wife that has NO CLUE about finances. They live way beyond what they can afford, but now they are buried in debt. I have no idea how they’ll get out of this unless they declare bankruptcy. This is so crazy.
This is not how our son was raised. The other two kids are fine, and live modestly. His wife, however, feels like she is entitled to anything she wants, and keeping up with the Joneses is what she wants. It comes at a very high price.
After that extremely stressful experience I swore I'd never again have a credit card, loan or mortgage because no matter what, having debt messes up your peace of mind, limits freedom and pigeonholes you into becoming a slave.
I kept that promise to myself and it didn't take long for it to feel normal not to buy things I didn't have the cash to buy. If I really want something, I just save up for it - like my grandparents did.
New car? 'Eff that! Pay cash for a solid, old one. New furniture, kitchen, bike, boat etc. etc. etc. to get that "new stuff buzz?" 'Eff that! Paying for vacations, restaurant visits, entertainment etc. on a credit card? Nope. So on and so forth. Cash only.
Try it. It could take a long time to get debt and credit card free but once you're there trust me, you will love it!
I have one credit card and almost always pay it off every month. Also have an Amazon Prime account. Haven’t seen the bill yet from last month but it will be largest ever. Last month, when I learned that AMZ bought Whole Foods, I bought wonderful organic groceries at very good prices. We shopped at Whole Foods years ago. Everyone called it “Whole Paycheck”.
Packaged, not fresh. Never pay interest ecause I pay it off every month. Nice to know I don’t really have to.
At my age, I have almost everything I need or want. Buy top quallity food, mostly organic but don’t eat beef or pork, just pasture-raised chicken (and eggs and wild Alaskan salmon. Organic potatoes and veggies. Always some kind of yogurt for dessert.
Don’t buy much alcohol, drink kombucha instead.
“This is not how our son was raised. The other two kids are fine, and live modestly.”
you can only give them the tools. What they do with it is their own free choice
It took me some time after the divorce, but I got rid of all of my credit cards. I don’t plan on getting any more.
CC
A little self discipline goes a long way toward NOT being a deadbeat... The key to not being poor and frantic? Spend less than you earn.
“But wouldn’t it be stupid to pay off all of your credit card debt just before you die?!
Regards,”
There is a certain unassailable logic in that.😁
CC
All that freedom, and not a lick of sense.
Kids getting these? College kids to get four and six year degrees with $200,000 student loans and living off credit cards at that interest? Is that slavery?
My best advise for those that don’t have credit cards, get one (because in today’s world you need at least one), but pay it off each month.
For those with credit card debt my advise is stop using them. If you can not pay your credit card off each month you just get deeper in debt. Begin paying off the highest interest rate first, then cancel the card. Move to the next one, repeat until debt free.
When you finally get all your credit cards paid off you will discover just how much money you really have. Good luck
I felt that way in my early 30’s. I had almost $30k in credit card bills, paying 25-35% interest. I moved as much as I could from card to card as they offered “low introductory rates”.
Eventually, I learned how to save money (by hiding it from myself in a savings account “). I converted credit card debt into bank consolidation loans, and I paid it off…. With the help of higher income, and a few good bonuses.
But first, one HAS to figure out a way to Spend less than you Earn.
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