Americans have racked up a trillion dollars in credit card debt. That’s actually OK
CNN’s PM Plug-In is a weekday newsletter to catch you up on important news you may have missed during your busy day. Make sure to subscribe to stay in the know.
Americans racked up a record amount of credit card debt in 2023, soaring past a trillion dollars. But a mass retrenching in consumer spending — the main driver of the US economy — is unlikely this year, according to economists.
Workers are still commanding robust wage gains, the stock market is on solid footing, attitudes toward the economy have improved dramatically in recent months, and consumers spent at a healthy clip during the holidays.
Card debt has indeed surged in nominal terms, but after adjusting for inflation, it’s nearly 20% below a peak it reached in late 2008, according to a WalletHub analysis of New York Fed data. Americans also seem equipped to deal with their balances, economists say.
“Consumers still have a lot of money left over to be able to spend, so the credit card data is often misinterpreted,” Russell Price, chief economist at Ameriprise Financial, told CNN. “The dollar value of credit card debt is at an all-time high, but so is population, employment and consumer income.”
?? A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up?right here .
领英推荐
Stories people are clicking on today
Precious metals: Costco locked in $1.50 hot dog and soda loyalists. Now it’s chasing a different clientele: precious metal investors and collectors. The company recently started selling silver coins for the first time, finance chief Richard Galanti told CNN. Full story
Anxiety relief: A clinical trial’s encouraging results won US Food and Drug Administration breakthrough therapy status for an LSD formulation to treat generalized anxiety disorder, Mind Medicine Inc. announced. The biopharmaceutical company is developing the drug. Full story
Climate crisis: "I’m a climate scientist. If you knew what I know, you’d be terrified too," writes Bill McGuir, professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London. Read more
?? Stay plugged in
We're excited to bring you this PM newsletter Mondays through Thursdays right here on LinkedIn. Don't miss the next edition. Subscribe now — and share with colleagues, friends and family.
What did you think of today’s newsletter? Drop a comment below or send thoughts and feedback to [email protected] .
Vice President, Commercial and SME Lending, Banker
8 个月Debt is not something that should be encouraged for the fear of mis-utilization on non-essentials when somewhere someone is unable to afford even the essentials .. well that's talking of morals and social responsibility etc etc .. but where the world is going to is in actuality a completely intertwined web of loads of different types of debts that carry a very high cost ... and a few years down the line, we realize the payments made are far more than the actual debt itself .. so, like it or not, debt in today's world is totally inevitable..
A.A degree in Family Daycare Home
8 个月I pay my bills
A.A degree in Family Daycare Home
8 个月Hmm
Licensed Vocational Nurse at Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
8 个月I pay off my credit card balance by months end. In return, WF pays me for using the card. Here writes a zero balance member.