Personal Finance

Credit card debt hits record $1.14 trillion

Published

7 months ago

August 6, 2024

Business Finance News

How America racked up a $1 trillion credit card bill

Who is falling behind on credit card bills

These borrowers “may have overextended during the pandemic,” the New York Fed researchers said on a press call Tuesday.

Delinquent borrowers are often renters, with shorter credit histories and lower credit limits, making them more likely to be financially vulnerable and miss a payment, the researchers said.

Over the last year, roughly 9.1% of credit card balances transitioned into delinquency, the New York Fed found.

In the years since the pandemic, homeownership has been one of the greatest tools of wealth creation — and those who have been priced out of the housing market have disproportionately struggled to achieve the same level of financial security, according to Brett House, economics professor at Columbia Business School.

Among the millennials transitioning into delinquency, many also entered the labor market during the Great Recession and may be experiencing the prolonged negative effects of graduating into an economic downturn, the New York Fed researchers said. Those who join the workforce in a period of elevated unemployment have lower long-term earnings, many studies show.

50% of Americans are carrying a balance

These days, 57% of consumers rely on credit cards to make ends meet, according to a separate survey by Achieve, and 36% of consumers said it is difficult to pay recurring debts on time. Achieve polled 2,000 adults with one or more kinds of consumer debt in June.

Of those surveyed who had missed a payment, most cited a job loss or reduced income as the main reason they have recently fallen behind.

Now half of cardholders carry debt from month to month, according to another report by Bankrate.

“High inflation and high interest rates have eroded Americans’ savings and more people are carrying more debt for longer periods of time,” said Ted Rossman, Bankrate’s senior industry analyst.

Credit card rates top 20%

At the same time, credit cards have become one of the most expensive ways to borrow money. Credit card rates, already high in recent years, spiked when the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates to tame inflation.

Since most credit cards have a variable rate, there’s a direct connection to the Fed’s benchmark. As the federal funds rate rose, the prime rate did as well, and credit card rates followed suit.

Lower-income households, who had to stretch to cover price increases, have been hit especially hard after a string of 11 rate hikes lifted the average credit card rate to more than 20% — near an all-time high.

“With credit card balances at an all-time high and the average credit card rate hovering near record territory, it’s more important than ever to pay down this debt as soon as possible,” Rossman said.

With that annual percentage rate of 20%, if you made minimum payments toward the average credit card balance of $6,218, it would take you 18 years to pay off the debt and cost you more than $9,300 in interest in that time period, Rossman calculated.

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Personal Finance

Americans are suffering from ‘sticker shock’ — here’s how to adjust

Published

5 hours ago

February 28, 2025

Business Finance News

A worker stocks eggs at a grocery store in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 12, 2025.

Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

Whether it’s a dozen eggs or a new car, Americans are having a hard time adjusting to current prices.

Nearly all Americans report experiencing some form of “sticker shock,” regardless of income, according to a recent report by Wells Fargo.

In fact, 90% of adults said they are still surprised by the cost of some goods, such as a bottle of water, a tank of gas, dinner out or concert tickets, and said that the actual costs are between 55% and 200% higher than what they expected depending on the item.

Many Americans are still cutting back on spending, making financial choices and delaying some life plans, the Wells Fargo report also found. The firm polled more than 3,600 consumers in the fall.

“The value of the dollar and what it is providing may not be as predictable anymore,” said Michael Liersch, head of advice and planning at Wells Fargo. As a result, “consumer behaviors are shifting.”

Still, adjusting to a new normal takes time, he added: “Habit formation does take a while. Next year what you can imagine seeing is consumers being a little less surprised or shocked by prices and adapting to the current situation to create that goals-based plan.”

Some change is already apparent. Although credit card debt recently notched a fresh high, the rate of growth slowed, which indicates that shoppers are starting to lean less on credit cards to make ends meet in a typical month, according to Charlie Wise, TransUnion’s senior vice president of global research and consulting.

“After years of very high inflation, they are kind of figuring it out,” Wise said. “They’ve adjusted their baseline for what things cost right now.”

But with President Donald Trump‘s proposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico set to take effect in March, there is also the possibility that prices will rise even further in the months ahead.

Consumers fear inflation will pick up

Mexico and Canada tariffs could put pressure on some consumer staples, experts say. That includes already high grocery prices, which are up 28% over the last five years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The prospect of tariffs and renewed inflation is weighing heavily on many consumers.

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index sank in February, notching the largest monthly drop since August 2021. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index similarly found that Americans largely fear that inflation will flare up again.

A recent CreditCards.com survey found that 23% of Americans expect to worsen or go into credit card debt this year, in part because they are making more purchases ahead of higher tariffs.

How to battle sticker shock

Consumer savings expert Andrea Woroch recommends setting a spending plan and tracking expenses. That helps you pinpoint wasteful purchases and those where prices are accelerating and take steps to save.

“Write out all your expenses currently from those essentials and the wants, figuring out an average monthly spend for fluctuating categories,” she said. “Once you have it all listed out, you can begin hacking away at unnecessary purchases or at least set goals for reducing in those nonessential categories.”

Identify triggers that lead to impulse purchases to help dodge them in the future, Woroch also said. “If you can’t resist a sale, then unsubscribe from store newsletters and turn off push notifications in deal apps.”

Ultimately, being more in control of your spending will “reduce the stress that comes with worry about how you’re going to afford higher prices,” Woroch said.

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Personal Finance

There’s still time to lower your 2024 taxes or boost your refund

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2025

Business Finance News

Pra-chid | Istock | Getty Images

With tax season well underway, you may be eager for strategies to reduce your 2024 taxes or boost your refund. However, there are limited options, especially for so-called “W-2 employees” who earn wages, experts say.

After Dec. 31, there are “very few” tax moves left for the previous year, according to Boston-area certified financial planner and enrolled agent Catherine Valega, founder of Green Bee Advisory.

Once the calendar year ends, it’s too late to claim a tax break by boosting 401(k) plan deferrals, donating to charity or tax-loss harvesting.

But there are a few opportunities left before the April 15 tax deadline, experts say. Here are three options for taxpayers to consider.

1. Contribute to your health savings account

If you haven’t maxed out your health savings account for 2024, you have until April 15 to deposit money and score a tax break, experts say.

For 2024, the HSA contribution limit is $4,150 for individual coverage or $8,300 for family plans. However, you must have an eligible high-deductible health insurance plan to qualify for contributions.

“The HSA is easy,” said CFP Thomas Scanlon at Raymond James in Manchester, Connecticut. “If you are eligible, fund it and take the deduction.”

2. Make a pre-tax IRA deposit

The April 15 deadline also applies to individual retirement account contributions for 2024. You can save up to $7,000, plus an extra $1,000 for investors age 50 and older.

You can claim a deduction for pre-tax IRA contributions, depending on your earnings and workplace retirement plan.

The strategy lowers your adjusted gross income for 2024, but the account is subject to regular income taxes and required withdrawals later, said CFP Andrew Herzog, associate wealth manager at The Watchman Group in Plano, Texas.

“A traditional IRA simply delays taxation,” he added.

A traditional IRA simply delays taxation.

Andrew Herzog

Associate wealth manager at The Watchman Group

3. Leverage a spousal IRA

If you’re a married couple filing jointly, there’s also a lesser-known option, known as a spousal IRA, which is a separate Roth or traditional IRA for nonworking spouses.

Married couples can max out a pre-tax IRA for both spouses, assuming the working spouse has at least that much income. It’s possible to claim a deduction for both deposits.

But whether you’re making a single pre-tax IRA contribution or one for each spouse, it’s important to weigh long-term financial and tax planning goals, experts say.

Personal Finance

Student loan applications down from Education Dept. website

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2025

Business Finance News

Students walk through the University of Texas at Austin on February 22, 2024 in Austin, Texas.

Brandon Bell | Getty Images

The Trump administration has taken down the applications for popular student loan repayments plans from the U.S. Department of Education‘s website, leaving millions of borrowers with fewer options for now.

Borrowers are unable to access the applications for income-driven repayment plans, as well as the online application to consolidate their loans.

Both applications are critical for borrowers pursuing lower monthly payments and loan forgiveness through an IDR plan, as well as the related Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

The disruption is due to a recent decision by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals that blocked the Biden administration’s new IDR plan, known as SAVE, or Saving on a Valuable Education, as well as the loan forgiveness component under other IDR plans.

Congress created IDR plans in the 1990s to make borrowers’ bills more affordable. The plans cap borrower’s monthly payments at a share of their discretionary income, and cancel any remaining debt after a certain period, typically 20 years or 25 years.

More than 12 million people were enrolled in the plans as of September 2024, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

Here’s what to know about the changes.

Applications could be down for ‘a few months’

The IDR plan applications shouldn’t be down for too long, Kantrowitz said.

“I expect it will be temporary, lasting a few months while they make changes,” he said.

The Education Department is likely tweaking the applications to make sure all their plans comply with the new court order, as well as removing the SAVE plan all together.

The Education Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a nonprofit, also didn’t expect a long wait time before the applications return.

“I get the sense the ED is working hard to get the changes made,” Mayotte said.

Impacts of the plans going dark

Unfortunately, there’s nothing federal student loan borrowers who want to sign up for an IDR plan or switch between the plans can do right now, Kantrowitz said.

Borrowers who are due to recertify their IDR plans will also have to sit tight for the time being, Mayotte said. (Those enrolled in IDR plans typically have to submit their income information annually.)

While the legal challenges against SAVE were playing out, the Biden administration put enrollees into an interest-free forbearance. That payment pause is likely to end soon, experts said. By then, borrowers should be able to access other IDR plans, though.

Those who graduate in the spring are typically entitled to a six-month grace period before their first bill is due, Kantrowitz pointed out.

As a result, they won’t need to sign up for a repayment plan until Novemember or December. The plans should be available again by then.

Options if you can’t afford your student loan bill

The disruption to IDR plans will be especially difficult for borrowers who can’t afford their current student loan bill and now can’t access a more affordable option, Mayotte said.

These borrowers can call their loan servicer and explain their situation.

You should first see if you qualify for a deferment, experts say. That’s because your loans may not accrue interest under that option, whereas they almost always do in a forbearance.