Poll: 70 Percent of American Consumers in Debt

A recent survey shows American consumers to be in the red

July 21, 2009 RSS Feed Print
  • 70: Percentage of American consumers in debt
  • 73: Percentage of American consumers between 18-49 in debt
  • 60: Percentage of those over 50 years old in debt
  • 30: Percentage who have credit card balances not paid in full every month
  • 40: Percentage of those in debt with monthly obligations greater than half their monthly income
  • 10: Percentage of consumers who have filed, or at least considering filing, for bankruptcy

Read more Data Points

Sources: AARP

Tags:
credit cards,
debt,
consumers

Reader Comments Read all comments (3)

Add Your Thoughts
Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

Mortgage is the only sensible debt to collect if any. A car is a terrible place for your money. If it is stickered at 30k you end up paying over 40k with interest making the banks richer and it will be worth around half the sticker when done paying.

Be wise, drive what you can afford and stop worrying about what those around you think.

Save your money our place it in wiser places that gain value and don't lose it.

Jim of TX 6:39PM October 03, 2011

Mortgage in latin means Death-mort, Gage-grip or DeathGrip. It is a way the rich can control the common man. Car payment? Cant you buy one you can afford?

patrick Clark of MT 8:14PM February 26, 2011

Yea. It's called a mortgage and a car payment. When you consider that those are technically debt, it takes away from the impact of the statement "70% of americans are in debt."

Dan of MD 3:32PM February 15, 2010

advertisement

Debate Club

Was 2011 One of the Worst Years for the U.S. Government in American History?

Experts debate where 2011 ranks among Washington's worst years.

Latest Video

Thomas Jefferson Street Blog

It’s Washington’s Birthday—Not Presidents' Day

It's time for Obama and Congress to give Presidents’ Day back to George Washington.

Cuba Is Reforming, But Not Nearly Enough

Cuban officials exaggerate the extent of reforms being enacted in the Castro brothers' Cuba.

Rick Santorum Will Spell Doom for Republicans in November

If it nominates Rick Santorum over MItt Romney, the GOP will lose the White House and elections at all other levels.

Obama's Energy Policy Isn't 'Crony Capitalism'

A majority of the energy companies who have received funds under Obama are thriving

Michigan Is a Must-Win ... For Rick Santorum

Winning in Michigan is at least as important to Santorum's campaign as it is to Romney's.

Why the Catholic Contraception Controversy Is So American

Politically speaking, the contraception controversy is a quirk of the way we pay for healthcare.

The Upside of the Racist Hoekstra Ad

In this era of nasty political rhetoric and advertising, the public will draw the line at something brazenly racist.

Barack Obama's Budget Is Even Worse Than It Looks

If Obama's budget for FY 2013 is adopted as written, the federal budget would never balance again.

advertisement