Originally published December 20 2004
Culture of household debt pervades America as credit card charging continues to rise
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
How deep can this debt get? Apparently, it can get a lot deeper still. American consumers are racking up record credit card debt by the day. It mirrors the country's own financial situation: knee-deep in debt seems to be the norm around here.
Some details about public attitudes on credit card use from the Associated Press-Ipsos poll on consumer debt.
The results are based on interviews with 790 people who have credit cards, done Dec. 6-8, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
HOLIDAY CHARGING: More than one of every four card holders say they will use credit cards during their holiday shopping and pay off the charges when they get the bill.
Almost one of every eight card holders say they will carry some holiday charges past the initial billing.
AMOUNT OF CARD DEBT: Almost one in five people with credit cards say they have charge balances of $5,000 or more.
That group includes one in 10 of those with cards who have balances of $10,000 or more.
Another one in 10 say they aren't sure how much they owe.
DOUBTS ABOUT HANDLING CREDIT CARDS: About one in six of those with cards, 16 percent, say they don't trust themselves - at least to some extent - to handle their credit card debts.
Young adults and those who make less than $25,000 a year were most likely to voice these doubts.
NUMBER OF CARDS: About one-third of those with credit cards say they have three or more credit cards - either personally or with a spouse or partner.
That includes one in 10 who say they have more than five credit cards.
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