ONE QUARTER OF AMERICANS ADDING TO DEBT WHILE LIVING ON CREDIT
March 14, 2002
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Twenty-four percent of Americans who added to their debt load in the last month are doing so because their income has been reduced and they are borrowing more money to pay their bills, according to a recent release from the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index. Almost two-thirds of Americans – or 61 percent – continued adding to their debt because they felt confident in their income and ability to pay off their debt.
“This trend of Americans living off their credit cards is extremely dangerous,” said Index
spokesperson Jordan Goodman.
For the month of February, the reading for the Cambridge Consumer Credit
Index is 55, which means that on average 45 percent or more of Americans are paying off debt than are adding debt, the Index showed. This is a six-point drop from the Index’s January reading of 61.
