2015 American Household Credit Card Debt Study

[Agschmid]

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Debt is an unwelcome guest at the table in many American households. The average U.S. household with debt carries $15,762 in credit card debt and $130,922 in total debt.

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It’s easy to say we should simply pay off our balances and free ourselves of the burdens — financial and emotional — that come with financing many aspects of our lives. But it’s not that simple.

When NerdWallet dug into the “why” and the psychology behind debt, as well as its cost, it became clear that increasing debt loads aren’t just a result of irresponsible spending. There are many factors at play in the increasing amount of debt being carried in homes across the country.

But there is hope. Americans can rid themselves of heavy debt and its financial toll.

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Read More, and see more charts about American Debt.

And if you feel like sharing what % of your annual salary is your debt load currently? Example: Someone who earns $60,000 with $6,000 in total debt would have a debt load of 10% of their annual salary.

17 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	0%-10%
	11 (65%)
	11%-20%
	0 (0%)
	21%-30%
	0 (0%)
	31%-40%
	0 (0%)
	40% or More
	4 (24%)
	I am Unemployed Currently
	1 (6%)
	I am Retired
	1 (6%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[Agschmid]

1. Since I made the poll...

I have a car loan and some credit card debt which puts me at about 5% of my annual salary, I do not have any student debt and have attended undergraduate college and am currently in grad school.

[JonLeibowitz]

2. It would appear as if "Nominal Income vs. Cost of Living" is comparing apples and oranges

Cost of Living is always denominated in real dollars, while nominal income is not.

Why not compare real income increase vs. cost of living increase? I suspect the graph would be markedly different.

To answer the poll, my debt load is 0%. I am currently in grad school (no cost, I draw a salary).

[Agschmid]

3. That's fair I'm not 100% on the source really but I read the article and a lot of it made sense.

"sense"

[JonLeibowitz]

4. ...

A lot of that information is good; I use nerdwallet to compare rewards on Credit Cards. Some of the details are slightly misleading, but the overall points are solid. The best thing anyone can do is have no debt.

[Agschmid]

5. Yup.

[Lucinda]

6. Interesting!

Just a mortgage for us. Car is paid off and we don't do credit cards.

[Agschmid]

7. Mortgage debt is for the most part a "healthy" debt.

You are just building equity, it's a good thing.

[mucifer]

8. Yeah, I don't get why they put mortgage in there.

[hfojvt]

13. true, unless you are upside down

your mortgage is actually a net asset.

However, until it is paid off, it is something that requires a monthly payment (then again, usually so does rent, although the consequences of skipping rent are perhaps not as severe. - the home owner can lose their equity) It may depend if the house payment plus taxes and insurance are more than rent or less. In my case, it was much less.

Equity can also vanish depending on the valuation of the house.

[MichMan]

9. Student Loan debt is also "good debt" in many cases too

I realize college costs have far outplaced inflation & things have changed in the many years since I went, but I borrowed $10K in 1987 to finance my education ($21K in 2016 dollars) I attended a commuter 4 yr college and worked full time to keep the costs down.

By far the best investment I ever made as obtaining my Engineering degree paid off that amount in just a couple years.

[gladium et scutum]

10. In my case

No mortgage, no car payments and credit cards paid to zero every month. Retired, widowed and in very good shape financially.

[stopbush]

11. We have $5200 in cc debt

and no other debt.

Don't have many assets, either.

[hfojvt]

12. that's not a very accurate number

averages are going to be skewed by rich people with massive amounts of debt. Who, for example, owns a $168,000 mortgage? Presumably NOT any household with income under $60,000. And they handily exclude the households with no debt from the average.

Myself I am single, make about $17,000 a year and haven't really had any debt since 2005. Unless you count the temporary debt from my credit card, which I pay off every month.

[tblue37]

14. I use the same credit card on file to buy books on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I buy books all the time, and I also use Amazon to buy and send gifts for kids, so I usually have several hundred dollars on the card at any given time

I am also still paying off the approximately $5000 copay for two surgeries and a hospital stay last April. I still owe about $2300 on that.
I use the same credit card on file to buy books on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

[a la izquierda]

15. Well, student loan debt not included...

I'm in the 0-10 range on credit cards, and if I divided my car loan payoff over the two years left I have to pay.
I actually have little cc debt. But my student loans kill me.

[eridani]

16. Will pay off car on April 1st

No other debt. House paid off, student loans paid off. Use credit cards for daily expenses, but pay them in full every month.

[Agschmid]

17. Woohoo! The car is done!

I am still paying off my first, next time I won't have such a long loan...

[eridani]

18. Figuring that a 2014 Honda CR-V should easily outlast a couple of 70-somethings n/t

[taught_me_patience]

19. Almost 50%

1.4M mortgage
200k student loan
200k business loans

We drive around ten year old cars so that we don't have any car payments.

[Javaman]

20. I'm very fortunate to be completely debt free. nt

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

21. About 18% of our annual income goes to debt.

63% of our debt is mortgage. 23% of our debt is student loans. 14% of our debt is an energy loan for a new furnace we got recently. We have no credit card debt. The highest interest rate we are paying is on one of the student loans (some where between 6 and 8%). The home loan and the energy loan are both around 4% interest rate and some of the student loans are consolidated to 3% interest rate.

I don't think that is all that bad given my husband and I are both under 40 and we still have probably 20 years of payments on our house.

[brooklynite]

22. No debt at all...

...other than the credit card bills that are paid in full each month. Car purchased in cash, Mortgage paid off early, no student debt.

not having to pay for kids probably helps...