Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Credit Card and Debt Statistics Database
by Scott Bilker
Scott Bilker is the author of the best-selling books, Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt, Credit Card and Debt Management, and How to be more Credit Card and Debt Smart. He's also the founder of DebtSmart.com. More about and DebtSmart can be found in the online media kit.

Spending and Account Balances in 2008
Looking across spending as a whole in 2008, a phase change began in the summer. After a bump in the May/June time frame from tax refunds and credits, spending declined by $400 / month / household. Spending eroded even further (a $200 drop) in November along with consumer confidence, bouncing back only slightly for the holidays.

Looking by category from January to November, there is a greater than 20% declines in entertainment (-22%), Home – including furnishings, services, and home improvement (-21%), gas/fuel (-32%), and travel (-24%). Spending also declined in food, shopping, and bills/utilities, with the only increase being spending on financial advisors as people look for help during uncertain times.

Looking at average account balances is also interesting. From August to December, the average savings account was halved to $5,500. Fortunately, credit card debt remained roughly constant, but investments declined by 24%, while loans (mortgage, HELOC, student loans, and personal loans) increased by 11%.
        Categories:  Credit Cards,Spending,Budgets
        Reporting Pub:  techcrunch.com
        Reporting Date:  1/30/2009
        Article Title:  The Economy According To Mint
        Article Author:  Aaron Patzer
        Pub's Source:  Mint.com
        Source URL:  View details from source
 

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