Marital Problems - 37 percent of marital problems stem from financial distress
Cash Flow- 70 percent of all consumers live paycheck to paycheck, meaning they run out of money before the end of the month
Savings - The average family has to use a credit card to pay for an unexpected expense (home or car repair)
Retirement - 46% of Americans have less that $10,000 saved for their retirement.
Credit card companies mailed a record $6 Billion in mail solicitations in 2005 to US households alone. That comes to around 20 for every citizen in the US.
From 1996 to 2005, the total number of bank credit cards increased by 46%. (based on the Card Industry Directory 2006, Chapter 1)
Credit card companies made $43 Billion in fee income from late payment, over-limit, and balance transfer fees in 2004.
According to the October 11, 2006 Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) report, late payment fees averaged $34 in 2005 which is a spike of 115% from $13 in 1995.
The average American has four credit cards
On average, 39% of Americans pay their credit cards off in full each month in 2004. This means on average, around 60% carry a credit card balance.
A study conducted by Experian shows 14% of the card holders use more than 50% of the credit available to them. These card users have an average credit score of 645 and up from 631 in 2004
