American’s credit card debt has just hit a disturbing record of $1.02 Trillion according to the Federal Reserve. You may be surprised how much we owe.
Most of us owe money on some combination of mortgages, student loans, cars, and credit cards. Medical debts and personal loans are pretty common, too.
While being in debt may be considered “normal”, you may be wondering how your debt compares to your peers’. And now, you can find out thanks to the 2017 State of Credit report from Experian. Here are a few key findings from that report, along with some tips on what you can do if your debts are higher than you’d like.
How high is the bill?
According to Experian, in 2017:
The average mortgage debt was $201,811.
The average non-mortgage debt per household was $24,706.
The average student loan balance was $34,144, which is a new record.
The average balance on credit cards was $6,354. Average credit card debt jumped 2.7% over the course of 2017, with Gen X-ers and Millennials seeing the largest increases.
The average balance on retail cards was $1,841. Balances rose 4% over the year.
Please note however that the above statistics above are for the entire county and there are variations from region to region.
What Makes Me Different From the Others?