Why Are So Many Millennials in Debt? The Hip but Ugly Truth

Updated Aug 15, 2018
By Melissa Cook
Why Are So Many Millennials in Debt? The Hip but Ugly Truth

Millennials are known for their love of travel, social media, and avocado toast. But increasingly America’s millennials are being defined by debt. Since they are now the country’s largest generation—83.1 million people, according to the...

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Minimum Credit Card Payments Don’t Work — Here’s Why

Updated May 17, 2018
By Aaron Sarentino
Minimum Credit Card Payments Don’t Work — Here’s Why

Credit cards aren’t necessarily bad for your financial health. As long as you spend responsibly and pay your balance in full every month, a credit card can be a convenient and useful tool. But some consumers...

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The Cost of Carrying Credit Card Debt to Society

Updated May 11, 2018
By Melissa Cook
The Cost of Carrying Credit Card Debt to Society

Before we discuss those societal costs, however, some context is needed. American consumers these days have much easier access to plastic. Credit access dipped sharply since the height of the Great Recession but has...

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Unsecured debt & bankruptcy in the United States

Updated Apr 20, 2018
By Minh Tong
Unsecured debt & bankruptcy in the United States

Unsecured debt has a direct correlation to bankruptcy in the United States. Just this year alone the total amount of unsecured debt has increased to 1 trillion collectively. According to HuffingtonPost, some of the...

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Credit Cards Are Encouraging You to Overspend

Updated Apr 20, 2018
By Melissa Cook
Credit Cards Are Encouraging You to Overspend

If you think that a credit card can’t “force” you to overspend, you’re both right and wrong. People are ultimately responsible for the choices they make; that’s true. But decades of research have found...

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Nearly 6 out of 10 Credit Card Holders in California are Using Too Much Credit

Updated Apr 18, 2018
By Aaron Sarentino
Nearly 6 out of 10 Credit Card Holders in California are Using Too Much Credit

As many people learn in adulthood, access to credit is important. It helps them build a solid credit history, which in turn helps them buy a house or rent an apartment. However, having such...

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These States Have the Highest Amounts of Credit Card Debt

Updated Apr 18, 2018
By Aaron Sarentino
These States Have the Highest Amounts of Credit Card Debt

Some states are reaching new heights — but not the kind to write home about. According to Experian’s latest State of Credit report, the following states carried the highest average credit card balances in...

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The Impact of Low Charge-Offs on Credit Card Debt

Updated Apr 04, 2018
By Aaron Sarentino
The Impact of Low Charge-Offs on Credit Card Debt

According to a recent study by WalletHub, U.S. consumers have managed to rack up over $1 trillion in credit card debt. In the last year alone, the amount of debt accumulated was a whopping...

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The 5 Leading Causes of Credit Card Debt

Updated Apr 04, 2018
By Aaron Sarentino
The 5 Leading Causes of Credit Card Debt

Americans have amassed more than $1 trillion in outstanding credit card debt – a record high, according to the Federal Reserve. In its annual State of Credit study, Experian reports the average American is...

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