US Credit Card Debt Hits $1 Trillion - Analyst says YAY! CONSUMER CONFIDENCE!

A first in global capitalism, US citizen consumer credit card debt has now topped $1 trillion. ... A senior analyst at the personal finance website put a positive spin on the eye-opening statistic, suggesting that the rapid rise of debt was simply a result of economic confidence by Americans.

From Sputnik News

So, topping one-trillion dollars in consumer credit card debt means things are is in great shape and Americans have confidence in the economy?

Am I weird? I mean, I only go into credit card debt when I am in a pinch. I don't sit and think, Hey, I have confidence in the way the US economy is headed. I think I'll go out and buy something I can't afford!

I use a credit card for two reasons:
1. for convenience, to purchase something that I can definitely pay off by the end of my billing cycle.
2. if I am in a life-or-death bind and it's my only option.

We are credit card debt free. I guess idiots like me mess up the curve, so I wonder what the debt level of people who carry debt really is.

Seriously, does anybody believe that increased consumer credit card debt actually signifies better times?

((See the Franz quote in my sig line below.)

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a reply to: Violater1

I'm wondering why you're wondering that on a thread about consumer debt?

originally posted by: MiddleInsite
a reply to: Violater1

I'm wondering why you're wondering that on a thread about consumer debt?

Yeah, me too...

a reply to: incoserv

I'm curious to how much of that debt is people racking up debt through necessity as opposed to just spending for fun. What percentage of people run debt as they have no other choice.....

a reply to: incoserv

I think it is a sign of confidence, it's also a sign people don't know how to manage money.

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

That's exactly my point. I call b.s. on the analyst's pipe dream. And I am amazed by the way they twist reality to suit their narrative.

As I said, every single time in my life that I've racked up credit card debt, it was because things were not going well for me, not that I suddenly found myself exploding with exuberant confidence in the US economy.

Really, who is like that? In my experience, credit card debt is the result of either immaturity and lack of self-control, or poverty-rooted or -inducing necessity.

Amirite?

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04
a reply to: incoserv

I think it is a sign of confidence, it's also a sign people don't know how to manage money.

Confidence by people who don't know how to manage their money is not confidence; it's presumption.

a reply to: incoserv

It is a sign of confidence for people running the scheme. More borrowing beyond means, equals higher prices and inflation. The only ones who benefit from all this are the ones running the game. For a house in the bay area you have to dish out millions, the house is worth 500k at best, so you borrow the difference from banks, and they pocket the %. If nobody borrowed beyond their means, prices will come back to within reason and banks will collapse.

Before the last recession same words exactly were used. Here is a fine example:

www.youtube.com...

a reply to: incoserv

& That is why I recently signed up for a card. I wanted to help the 1 trill mark. It'll change the way we think about debt as a people.

a reply to: incoserv

Yep I think you're right....

I can see the "Bankruptcy Assistance Act of of 2024" now.

The millennials will force everyone else to pay off their drinking tab.

And the retarded masses will say ok, because if they don't they're generationally biased f#tarded worst people on the planet.

originally posted by: HanSolo31
a reply to: incoserv
... It is a sign of confidence for people running the scheme. ...

Thus the quote in my signature line:
"Gold is the money of kings; silver is the money of gentlemen; barter is the money of peasants. But debt is the money of slaves." ~Norm Franz

The would-be overlords are pushing for a world of indentured slaves, bondservants. Anybody who says that slavery has been outlawed in the modern West is blind. It's been institutionalized by the financial system and the slaves are queuing up for Gold and Platinum shackles with cash-back benefits.

Savings rates as a percentage of disposable income are also near historic lows, around 2.5% I think. Basically this means people have little capital, so all the asset values of real estate, stocks, bonds, cryptos are based or created by debt. Also, if people don't have any excess money since savings rates are so low where is all the additional capital going to come from to keep boosting asset prices?

It can only come from the printing press of the fed and commercial banks.

originally posted by: SkeptiSchism
...It can only come from the printing press of the fed and commercial banks.

Yeah, I guess that's where all that consumer exuberance and confidence is based.

Never underestimate the stupidity of the American consumer. 90% of people have no idea how to manage money and live within their budget. We are in a debt based society.

Not only is credit card debt topping $1 trillion, but you also have a bubble in car loans with terms being extended out to 84 months.

a reply to: incoserv

Well things are cyclical right? That means eventually things will return to the mean value, I think the mean value for the DOW is around 3,800.

originally posted by: SkeptiSchism
a reply to: incoserv

Well things are cyclical right? That means eventually things will return to the mean value, I think the mean value for the DOW is around 3,800.

WHAT?! I thought that the economy was running on infinite exponential growth.

I mean, that's a real thing, right?

It's a completely misleading statistic. I put $1K on my credit card this month. It's counted as debt. At the end of the month I'll pay it in full, like I always do. No more debt. No interest paid. It could have been a debit card, but I don't want that number in the wild. With a credit card, it doesn't matter because it's guaranteed by the Big Bad Bank. Din't be so simplistic when you rad these numbers. There's more to it than that.

originally posted by: incoserv

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04
a reply to: incoserv

I think it is a sign of confidence, it's also a sign people don't know how to manage money.

Confidence by people who don't know how to manage their money is not confidence; it's presumption.

To be honest, I was happy enough about my tax cut and refund and the general state of the economy and my job that I bought a boat on a 1 year note.

Credit can be used both ways... in a pinch as a fallback and in times when you think it's not a big deal to put something on a note.

I do get it that a purist will wait till they have the money to buy something to avoid the interest charges.

But mine was 7% in a year so I am OK with the markup.

So consumer confidence does work that way with people that are fiscally responsible as well.

Full disclosure... my land is paid off, I have no car payments, I pay my property taxes by selling a hobby I do and I make more than my Mayor.