Americans Are Cutting Debt – But Why?

Oink — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:19:29 +0000

While I was hanging around on Yahoo Finance watching my stock portfolio bottom out, I did notice an article that looked encouraging at first glance. It said that US consumer debt has dropped a bit for the first time on record. i.e. for the first time, since they started tracking consumer debt, it has dropped. Now this should be good news that Americans are finally realizing that the future pain that debt gives them is not worth the quick satisfaction of a 50 inch TV set or something.

Is Declining US Debt Always Good News?

However, are Americans cutting debt by choice. It is hard to believe right now, especially in the holiday season. Actually, credit card companies are putting the squeeze on consumers, and falling debt levels may not be the consumer’s choice, but the fact that their credit limits have been sharply dropped.

And even though consumer debt has gone down by less than 1 percentage point, Americans net worth has declined by over 4 percent. Mortgage debt has also decreased, but it may be because many Americans have given up on their mortgages, and others cannot get a loan in this tight credit market.

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Debt Pay Off Calculator

Oink — Sat, 24 May 2008 02:35:13 +0000

How Long To Pay Off Debt With Minimum Payments?

You may wonder how long it will take to pay off a credit card or other unsecured loan by making the minimum payment. Well, I have to tell you that if have run up a substantial balance, let’s say a few thousand dollars, it will take awhile if you can manage it at all. Let’s say you have a fairly moderate $3500 balance. And lets say your interest rate is reasonable, say 14%.

FREE ONLINE DEBT PAYOFF CALCULATOR

Well, if you make $85 a month payments, it can take 4 and a half years, and you will have paid out almost $1200 on interest on that $3500 of debt! If you can swing $150 a month payments, you can reduce your payoff time to about 2 1/3 years, and almost cut the interest in half.

Of course, if you get sucked into the extra services, like credit protection, that the companies try to tack onto your bill, a minimum payment will make even less progress.

debt, loans, credit card, debt payoff, debt reduction, bad credit

Technorati Tags: debt, loans, credit card, debt payoff, debt reduction, bad credit

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Americans Are Cutting Debt – But Why?

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How Long To Pay Off Debt With Minimum Payments?