A Portrait of American Finance Today
In a recent article released on Yahoo Finance courtesy of Investopedia, individuals were given the chance to see how their finances stacked up to that of the average American. The article, which compile findings about things such as household credit card debt, average credit score rating, spending, and savings habits, reveals a portrait of American finance that often remains unspoken. Your neighbors and family members are unlikely to share this information with you in such simple language and having the chance to learn the truth about the spending and borrowing habits of others can be quite eye opening.
Firstly, The Investopedia study revealed that the average American household has over $15,000 in credit card debt. This number is often understated in other articles, and the fact is, these findings are current as the study was released as recently as October 2010. According to the report, a whopping 54 million households fall into the $15,000 of more in credit card debt category with the exact average being $15,788.
It was found that 51% of Americans carry one or more credit cards with the most popular cards being Visa, closely followed by Mastercard. Interestingly enough, both cards beat out American Express which takes the third spot although it was the first to become widely accepted in the 1950s.
Other interesting findings include that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2008), the Average American spends 34% of their income on housing costs. It was also reported that the Average American only saves 6% of their annual income, a finding that could become a problem for many who have lost equity in their home and need to find ways to cover emergency expenses. This paints a portrait of an American who has or is likely to easily fall into hard to pay down debt- translating into danger for the many Americans in this situation, who due to debt and damaged credit, will need credit repair assistance.
On average, individuals reported having credit scores below 700, with higher regional averages reported in the New England U.S. region and lower average scores regionally in the South Central region of the U.S. With bank restrictions continuing to tighten, this suggests millions are in need of the help of a credit repair specialist. CreditCRM is experienced in helping those with bad credit get back on track.
