Almost half of all Americans have credit card debt, yet nearly one-third have taken no steps beyond monthly payments to reduce it. This comes from a recent finding of a survey conducted by Harris Interactive about Americans’ attitudes and behavior towards their credit card debt.
Reducing monthly expenditures (such as eating out, entertainment, travel, rent, and cable television costs) was the most common way (other than making regular monthly payments) for debtors to try to alleviate their debt. Two in five (43 percent) said they had made those efforts in the past 18 months.
Yet only 28% had transferred credit card balances to lower interest-rate cards and just 13% had contacted creditors to negotiate reduced interest rates or payment plans in the past 18 months.
According to the survey, 52 percent of all credit-card indebted Americans have had credit-card debt for between two and five or more years. Fully one-fifth have not been credit-card debt-free for five years or more; 11 percent claim they have never been without credit-card debt.
Debt is the biggest problem for adults between the ages of 25 and 45. 66% of people age 18-24 say they have no credit-card debt at all. However, credit card debt becomes far more prevalent after age 25; consumers between that age and age 34 the percent of people without credit cards crops to just 37 percent. Between the ages of 35 and 44, the precentage drops even lower, to 36%. After age 45, however, credit card debt becomes less of a problem. For those age 45-54, 38 percent say they are without credit cad debt. By age 55-64, 48% have no credit card debt, and 61% of those over 65 are free of credit-card debt.
What Can I do about Credit Card Debt?
1. DO NOT waste money on Gambling and Lotteries- more and more Americans are throwing money out the window and giving it to these illegal foreign gambling services or state lotteries that have awful odds of winning.
2. Watch less movies, eat out less, find a bank that does not charge a monthly checking fee. Little things like that go a long way!
3. Read more about credit card debt consolidation
4. Avoid Credit Card pitfalls
Options to reduce high-interest Credit Card Debt-
1. Consolidate your Debt. Use a online debt consolidation service.
2. IF you own a home: Pay off Credit Card Debt with a Debt Consolidation Loan.
