Credit Card Debt on the Decline

Since 2010, there has been a decline in the average credit card debt of the American consumer. However, no Las Vegas bankruptcy attorney would take this to be a sign of greater fiscal responsibility on the part of American consumers or an increase in employment rates, The reason why card debt has declined is that banks are simply not doing as much to collect the debt as they used to before. An Overview Of American Credit Debt Since the beginning of 2010, according to some estimates, the average American credit card debt has dropped by approximately $2150. Credit card debt of the average American peaked to around $18,000 a few years back and dropped to around $14,500 by the end of 2010. Since then, the average debt has stabilized at that number. However, analysts believe that the debt has dropped not because Americans are now paying their credit card bills faster, but simply because banks have given up trying to collect on the debt. Many banks have chosen to cut their losses, and eliminate the credit card debt from their books. Just as with housing loans that were given to consumers who did not have enough paying potential, triggering the housing crisis, credit card debt has increased simply because so many credit cards were issued to people who could not afford to make payments on these bills. Since the recession kicked in, many Americans have begun relying on plastic simply to meet their living expenses. Just over 50% of middle class and lower-income Americans are believed to be using their credit cards for living expenses. Many Americans are now slipping into credit card debt just to survive.