Outstanding Credit Card Debt Hits Second All-Time High Since 2008

If we ever needed proof that the level of debt people carry is preventing them from adequately preparing for retirement, we have only to look at some of the stats from the latest WalletHub survey.

Not only did we start 2019 with more than $1 trillion in credit card debt, even though consumers managed to pay off $38.2 billion in credit card debt during the first quarter last year, says the report, but “poor second-quarter results nearly erased that effort.”

And, indeed, consumers racked up another $35.5 billion in new credit card debt during the second quarter. That, says the report, was the largest second-quarter build-up ever.

But they didn’t stop there.

In the third quarter of the year, they piled on another $21.5 billion—resulting in outstanding credit card debt hitting “the second-highest point since the end of 2008, after reaching an all-time high in Q4 2018.”

And then there was Christmas, with WalletHub projecting that 2019 would see an increase of $80 billion for the year.

Considering that “[s]ince the end of the Great Recession, consumer performance has regressed on a year-over-year basis in 6 of every 10 quarters,” it’s no wonder that people have a tough time saving for retirement—much less boosting their savings to recommended levels to keep up with the escalating cost of everything, particularly medical care.

And it shows, too, in the chargeoff rate, which is rising year over year. In Q3 last year, it hit 3.49 percent.

The average household, by the way, carried an average credit card balance of $8,701 in the third quarter of 2019; that’s up 4% from where it was in Q3 2018, at $8,365.

One handicap in keeping up with credit card debt, in particular, is the difficulty of making progress in bringing down balances subject to high interest rates.

While those in stable jobs with abundant income might not have any problem swiping the plastic for big purchases, the report says, it’s a different matter for lower-income folks and those dependent on the gig economy, which can be notoriously unpredictable.

Those people, according to David Laibson, a professor of economics at Harvard University, would be better off switching to cash. In the report, Laibson is quoted saying, “If they don’t pay bills monthly and carry a balance with a high interest rate, relying on cash is a good discipline.”

One difficulty many people have is using their credit cards for large purchases—even if it maxes out their cards. In fact, says the survey, 36 percent of respondents—that amounts to 91 million Americans—say they worry about that happening.

And they’re right to worry, since there’s been a 29% increase in the number of people who have maxed out their credit cards multiple times in the last 12 months.

Part of the problem may lie in the fact that 36% of consumers say they spend more time paying off large purchases than planning for them. A longer period of contemplation might be in order before whipping out the plastic for that big-screen TV just in time for the Super Bowl, even if it does seem like a good idea at the time.

So what exactly constitutes a “large” purchase?

According to WalletHub, nearly a third—31%—of people define it as anything costing more than $100, although 17% say it’s anything over $1,000; 24% say it’s got to be more than $500; and 28% say the line is $250.

Millennials, incidentally, are twice as likely as boomers to define a “large purchase” as anything over $100.

But 55% of people would rather use a credit card than any other form of payment for big purchases, with 47% aiming for the card’s rewards and 23% saying it’s the easiest/quickest option.

However, more than half of the 31% who use a debit card do so expressly to avoid credit card debt, as do 57% of those who rely instead on cash (11%) or checks (3%).

Incidentally, although Republicans are three times more likely than Democrats to use cash, Democrats are less likely to have maxed out a card for a large purchase—and women are 10% less likely than men to have maxed out a card at least once.