Chart of the Week: What Are The Trends With U.S. Credit Card Debt?
Hat tip to Get Rich Slowly blog for including this chart in their recent post about pros/cons of credit card debt.
Questions for students:
- How would you describe the trend from 2003 to 2009 and then 2009 to 2015?
- What may have caused the drop from 2009-2011? Who was behind this change? Credit card companies? Consumers?
- Estimate the average credit card debt per American household (note: there are about 125 million households in 2015).
- Are purchases made by cardholders who pay off their balances every month be included on this graph?
- Which quarter of the year would you expect to see the biggest credit card balances? Why?
About the Author
Tim Ranzetta
Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.
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