Posted on 03/09/2018 8:20:34 AM PST by NohSpinZone
Total U.S. credit card debt has topped $1 trillion for the first time, according to a new report from the card comparison site WalletHub.
Consumers added $92 billion in credit card debt in 2017, bringing the aggregate over $1 trillion. Other categories over the trillion-dollar threshold are housing, auto loan, and student loan debt.
[SNIP]
The average household owes a record $8,600, which is more than the peak during the recession.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
More consumer debt is not necessarily a bad thing, as it means that families are confident enough in their finances to make new purchases.
Uh, no, it is a bad thing. Chaaaarge it!!!
Damn, I gotta go charge 8600.00 bucks to get even with everyone.
One would think the local loan shark has lower interest rates. Of course, he doesn’t allow debt to mount.
Oh, for the days when money market accounts were paying 17%. When it’s down to 1-2%, it not an incentive to save.
I use a credit card because you pretty much have to in this day and age. But its paid off every month. If I can’t pay off the card, I don’t buy it.
I shake my head at those commericals where the people think a credit rating of 750 is good. Anything under 800 is bad, imo.
Anyone know what a debt of that $8600 would be?
Unsecured debt!
lmao
Ditto :-) I used to get gift cards when discover would give you a $50 gift card for $40. Since nobody does that anymore, I just apply the cash back to my balance. Sadly, I can still get a higher percentage in cash back then I can in a money market or CD. I’m old enough that being in the stock market is too risky. One more downturn and there would go our retirement!
“Ramsey says that studies show consumers tend to spend 18 to 20% more when using plastic vs. paper - using cash triggers some pain mechanisms in our brain. ”
I didn’t know that. I guess since I’m the one that handles all our finances, I see money the same whether it’s paper or plastic or over the Internet or a debt. I just see my spreadsheet of financial calculations in my mind :-) But I imagine a lot of people are also very visual, so spending that paper money has more of an impact.
I told my son to check out Dave Ramsey a while ago. I’m hoping he did.
It takes a few years to mature and be totally soluble but we have income enough that the IRAs are for "lagniappe" money and we'll probably only take minimum required outlays when we reach the magic 70-1/2 ages. After the first year one can take up to 10% w/o penalty and either decide to take sporadic on-demand payments or set up a specific regular flow.
Not trying to sell you anything - just saying there are avenues out there to protect your money and make more than banks are paying.
Sorry for the long delay, I have been trying to research Allianz I knew it is. There’s not a whole lot of specific information on their website. At one time, probably a decade ago, I did look into annuities. But the one insurance company I was dealing with couldn’t show me how they got the 5% they promised. It was like yours, a base value that they guaranteed, and it could be increased with market upswings.
But in looking at the calculations on the spreadsheet and their brochures, I didn’t get anywhere near the 5%, more like 3%. A friend of ours who was happy with his 8% – when I looked at his numbers it was more like 5%. Anyway those insurance gurus couldn’t explain any of it. So I passed.
Would be fine with getting 5% these days! My only concern is if we have hyper inflation. But 5% would still net us enough to live on so that would be great. The good ol’ days were when I had 5% CDs! I’m waiting for Trump to turn those out again. Or to make the Fed quit squashing interest rates , i mean
‘I knew it is’ = annuities
The interpretation of dictation is sometimes interesting :-)
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