Posted on 11/10/2021 5:16:51 PM PST by dynachrome
U.S. consumers are spending more and ramping up credit card balances, reversing a shift during the COVID-19 crisis, when they scaled back spending and substantially paid down debt, a Federal Reserve Bank of New York report showedon Tuesday.
After rising by $17 billion in both the second and third quarters, credit card use appears to be returning to pre-pandemic patterns, the researchers said. However, balances were still $123 billion lower than at the end of 2019, according to the quarterly report on household debt and credit.
"As pandemic relief efforts wind down, we are beginning to see the reversal of some of the credit card balance trends seen during the pandemic, namely reduced consumption and the paying down of balances," Donghoon Lee, a research officer at the New York Fed, said in a statement. "At the same time, as pandemic restrictions are lifted and consumption normalizes, credit card usage and balances are resuming their pre-pandemic trends, although from lower levels."
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
The bad news is, they are all being used at gas stations.
Pay off every month? That limits your purchases.
Follow my brother-in-laws method. Sign up for every credit card offer which comes in via mail. Then run up every credit card to max limit. Then declare bankruptcy.
Rinse and repeat. He has lived a higher standard of living than all other relatives who paid off credit card bills every month.
“pre-pandemic patterns”
In other words, back to living WAY beyond your means.
It is good to go on a financial fast and not spend if you do not have to. It can be both challenging and fun. Try it for a week.
I retired a few years ago. It’s a new way of life.
Spending like no tomorrow as there will be no tomorrow as they begin to default as they can’t pay the CC bills...
You still have to treat yourself!
Traffic is getting bad, again.
Not enough people died.
Odd enough, this may be the right way to do things now. Buy while the prices are low, the inflation may erase the debt.
I had to laugh at that one.
Yes, the traffic has gotten back to ridiculous levels in my area. Whatever happened to that much ballyhooed "pandemic" everybody was so frightened about?
I use cash as much as I can.
People may be using credit cards for necessities they can’t afford due to government caused ridiculous prices!!!
Isn't that the truth? The MSM, government, CDC, et al do their daily fear mongering, but when you go out, it's life as usual.
I know you are right and it is just getting started as the true inflation is now kicking in (regardless of "deleting the volatile gas, food and so on....prices from the official index). People have to pay for gas, food and so on.
You are right but many millions of us cannot do that.
I think it was humorist Erma Bombeck (in probably the 1970s) who said: "If there were a woman who always cleaned and scrubbed out the oven once every month she would be forgiven for any and all faults and sins, including adultery."
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