U.S. Credit Card Debt Closed 2018 at a Record $870 Billion

Market bulls need not read any further. Don't worry, everything is AWESOME, buy houses and stuff, put all your money in the DOW cause it's better than ever.

No I'm being serious.

Everyone else you may want to pay really close attention to the debt to income ratio's we are presently at. If you are in real estate, you REALLY need to pay attention.

U.S. credit card debt hit $870 billion -- the largest amount ever -- as of December 2018, according to the data from the Federal Reserve. Credit card balances rose by $26 billion from the prior quarter.

"The increase in credit card balances is consistent with seasonal patterns but marks the first time credit card balances re-touched the 2008 nominal peak," according to the report.

Nearly 480 million credit cards are now in circulation --


Wait... what?

up by more than 100 million since hitting bottom after the recession a decade ago

.

holy crap!

About 37 million credit card accounts had a 90+ days delinquent mark added to their credit report last quarter, an increase of about two million from the fourth quarter of 2017. These 37 million accounts hold roughly $68 billion in debt that is 90-plus days delinquent.

And..... now we know where all the "growth" is coming from. If this number rose comparatively to consumer savings rates I wouldn't be so worried buuuuuuuuuutttt....

Market Watch
IMF white paper

Those days seem to be over. After a mini-peak in 2015 at about 6%, savings rates have fallen pretty steadily and now sit at 3%…not far from where they were before the last recession. That’s barely enough to keep up with inflation, meaning in real terms, on average, Americans aren’t really saving anything.

You know if you stop buying Starbucks ($30 a week) you won't be broke, trust me, I've read it a million times it must be true.

Anywayyyyy... bulls just keep buying, everyone else prepare for the downswing, liquid is where you want to be at the top of the market (or in commodities).

Buy on the down swing sell when everyone else is buying.

SELL WHEN EVERYONE IS BUYING

a reply to: toysforadults

We also have $1.53 trillion in student loan debt and over $1 trillion in auto loan debt... $15 or $16 Trillion in mortgage debt

and about $123 TRILLION in unfunded liabilities like social security


Not to mention usdebtclock.org...


But nobody seems to care... tick.. tock...

a reply to: FamCore

It doesn't matter duhhh, the medical industry did great last year! all the store closures are because of Amazon not lack of money in the consumer market.

best economy ever, built ENTIRELY on debt amazing that people can't see this ticking time bomb about to go off.. well the older generations won't have to worry about it so who cares? let the lazy ass millennial's and Gen Z cry babies deal with the biggest economic disaster in American history

I helped!
I closed out 2018 with twelve grand on my credit card.
Paid it off at the next cycle and never paid a dime in interest, plus got two percent back.

Tremendous progress. Winning bigly.

originally posted by: FamCore
a reply to: toysforadults

We also have 1.53 trillion in student loan debt and over $1 trillion in auto loan debt...


Not to mention usdebtclock.org...

But nobody seems to care... tick.. tock...

the student loans are a killer. there are so many people out there that are just not paying them back. I make a decent amount of money, and still have trouble paying back the extensive loans accrued over the years.......cost of education needs to come WAY down imo.

a reply to: annoyedpharmacist

let me be first

shoulda joined IBEW, you and the millions of other students

originally posted by: annoyedpharmacist

originally posted by: FamCore
a reply to: toysforadults

We also have 1.53 trillion in student loan debt and over $1 trillion in auto loan debt...


Not to mention usdebtclock.org...

But nobody seems to care... tick.. tock...

the student loans are a killer. there are so many people out there that are just not paying them back. I make a decent amount of money, and still have trouble paying back the extensive loans accrued over the years.......cost of education needs to come WAY down imo.

For sure.

Essentially many 18 year old kids are getting small mortgages they can't really start chipping away at for some time.

So only 8% of the debt is delinquent. Meanwhile, as another post pointed out we have a new generation $1.57 Trillion in student loan debt. A lot of those degrees are useless too such as Sociology, Fine Arts, Theology, etc. Plus we have politicians pushing ideas that would cost around a $100 Trillion right now, so I'm unsure why this is a big deal.

I do agree savings accounts are a joke though. I keep an emergency fund in savings but invest most of my money. I'm not qualified to give financial advice, but it feels like the best way to get a return on the money I have saved.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

it doesn't help that the housing market has skyrocket in value past the 2007 highs, how can anyone buy at those prices when 60%-70% of the market is making 40k or less a year?

how does that work?

originally posted by: toysforadults
a reply to: annoyedpharmacist

let me be first

shoulda joined IBEW, you and the millions of other students

If I had it to do over again, I sure would take up a trade. A friend of mine started his own concrete business right after high school, had no loans, and is now loaded......worked his arse off for it, and deserves every penny too.

I was so short sighted back then. The trades were looked down upon not only by the students, but by the teachers. They told us to go to college, get good grades and be set for life. what a crock of sh*t that was.

a reply to: annoyedpharmacist

Well the trades are hit or miss depending on your location

I spent my entire life working every summer and the last 5 years working in the trades and I'm doing everything I can to escape so I'm biased

originally posted by: toysforadults
a reply to: CriticalStinker

it doesn't help that the housing market has skyrocket in value past the 2007 highs, how can anyone buy at those prices when 60%-70% of the market is making 40k or less a year?

how does that work?

That certainly is a problem.

Purchasing power is down while everything is adjusting to the changing markets more than middle class income.

I've noticed a sizable change in price to many staple items at the grocery store in the past ten years. Electricity in my area at least has gone up quite a bit as well.

originally posted by: toysforadults
a reply to: annoyedpharmacist

Well the trades are hit or miss depending on your location

I spent my entire life working every summer and the last 5 years working in the trades and I'm doing everything I can to escape so I'm biased

this is true. in my area (western PA), there are a ton of jobs out there now. I heard from quite a few people they are having problems hiring due to no one being able to pass drug tests.....but that is another issue all together.

Student loans are a product of archaic thinking in my mind, I have a BS in IT security, a friend of mine got a tech degree from OU.

I got mine from an online school for 28k total, he was pushing 6 figures... he tried to tell me mine was a diploma mill then I showed him my school was accredited by the same people that say OU is an accredited college.

In this day and age I think the school name on the diploma carries a lot less weight than it used to, by the time my GI bill runs out I will have a Masters and zero dollars in debt, personally I think brick and mortar schools are going togo the way of the dodo.

As far as auto loans people keep falling for keeping up with the jones, newest car at my house is a 2014 my wife drives, I drive a 2001. we do have some credit card debt but that will be paid off this summer and was part of the plan to get our credit rating up high enough to sell our house and move and get a good interest rate.

Now I am rambling, the numbers on the face of it look bad but just because someone is carrying debt doesn't mean its a bad thing.

Credit is of the devil. It takes a long time to learn that for most. If you go back to the old school teachings, you find that buying what you can afford to with cash, and not buying the things you can't afford with credit, will yield much better results over the long haul. yes, it makes thing take longer, and the instant satisfaction we all crave just ins't there, but when you look back at what you owe, it's nice to see a very small number there. Most need a mortgage. Get a small one. that may mean you don't get the big house you wanted. Buy a car, pay it off, and keep it for a while.

It seems as if I heard this all before, perhaps from my parents and grand parents......but what did they know?

a reply to: Irishhaf

sorry to go OT: but how long did that online IT degree take you? is it full time, or can you take it at your own pace due to work? I was thinking of doing some online classes and building up to an IT degree. pharmacy has begun to piss me off, and as soon as the loans are gone, so am I.

a reply to: annoyedpharmacist

Problem with the trades and hiring is that there's and boom.and bust cycles so getting through an apprenticeship without a lot of time off

The bottom guys always get cut

a reply to: Irishhaf

In IT its about certs anyway but you gotta check the degree off

I think I'm going to the same school you went too. All the state colleges are starting to offer the same exact programs for all of their technology classes

I'm getting a degree in network operations and security working on my second CCNA

Just bought a new car to start commuting for work

originally posted by: annoyedpharmacist
a reply to: Irishhaf

sorry to go OT: but how long did that online IT degree take you? is it full time, or can you take it at your own pace due to work? I was thinking of doing some online classes and building up to an IT degree. pharmacy has begun to piss me off, and as soon as the loans are gone, so am I.

I would only go the IT security data center or cloud engineer if you have a passion for it

Its competitive but there is a lot of opportunity