The big lie about credit card debt
“By some estimates, the average American household has over $9,300 in credit card debt. Yet, despite Americans’ concern about their spending habits, few people are willing to own up to their balances: over 90 percent of survey respondents believe they had the same amount (as) or less debt (than) the average American. This makes a revealing statement about America’s complex relationship with credit cards.”
Actually, it makes a revealing statement about how pernicious a false statistic can be. Those of you who have read my previous columns about the myth of the average credit card debt can jump ahead. For those who are joining the class late, we’ll review:
The majority of U.S. households have no credit card debt, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances. About a quarter have no credit cards, and an additional 30% or so pay off their balances every month.
Of the households that do owe money on credit cards, the median balance was $2,200 — meaning half owe more, half less.
Only 8.3% of households owe $9,000 or more on their cards.