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| Debt Facts |
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- Consumer Debt exceeds the National Debt.
- There are more than one billion credit cards in circulation today in the United States, including 600 million retail cards, 320 million bank cards, 140 million oil cards, and 30 million travel and entertainment cards.
- The typical family spends more than 90% of its disposable income on debt service.
- 24% of the bankruptcies filed last year, were filed by people that are only 25 years old and younger.
- The American people owe approximately $6.7 Trillion Dollars in household debt.
- Americans are putting less money into savings. (U.S. personal savings rate has decreased from nearly 8.5% in the early 1980’s to less than zero today.)
- Consumer debt is on the rise. It rose from $731 billion in 1992 to about $1.5 trillion today. This includes a huge increase in unsecured credit card debt: from $292 billion in 1992 to $654 billion at the end of 2000. It is a remarkable trend since credit card debt was only $50 billion in 1980.
- Three out of five U.S. households have an average credit card balance of more than $11,000. Paying only minimum payments at 24% interest, it would take 22 years to pay it off - and you would pay over $47,000 in interest.
- Most Americans are not saving nearly enough to fund their retirement.
- The amount lenders collect in late fees has risen from $1.7 billion in 1996 to $7.3 billion last year
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