Some lenders consider your DTI ratio, which is a comparison of your monthly income and debt payments. Carrying a credit card balance can lead to a higher DTI ratio, which may make it more difficult or expensive to borrow money.
Too much credit card debt can hurt your credit score, which can make it hard to get a loan, buy a car, or even rent an apartment. Yes! you have problem with your credit score. Do Not Fret, you just need to consult a credit repair guru.
You can have too much debt if your overall balance exceeds 30% of your credit limit. According to some experts, credit usage should be kept between 1% and 10%, whereas anything between 11% and 30% is often seen as good.
If you're using more than 30% of your available credit, it could be a sign that you are overreliant on credit cards and could be headed for trouble. A high utilization ratio not only indicates potential financial stress but also negatively impacts your credit score.
High-interest credit card debt can devastate even the most thought-out financial plan. U.S. consumers carry $6,501 in credit card debt on average, according to Experian data, but if your balance is much higher—say, $20,000 or beyond—you may feel hopeless.
It's a red flag for budgets. Though incomes are up, Americans are putting more on plastic and stretching to pay on time, reinforcing the precarious nature of cash flow.
$5,000 in credit card debt can be quite costly in the long run. That's especially the case if you only make minimum payments each month. However, you don't have to accept decades of credit card debt. There are a few things you can do to pay your debt off faster - potentially saving thousands of dollars in the process.
Overall consumer debt has increased for Americans, average credit card balances jumped to $7,236 according to Lendingtree's 2025 Credit Card Debt Statistics. Debt.com's latest survey of 1,000 credit card users shows 1 in 5 have between $10,000 and $30,000 in credit card debt.
Debt-to-income ratio is your monthly debt obligations compared to your gross monthly income (before taxes), expressed as a percentage. A good debt-to-income ratio is less than or equal to 36%. Any debt-to-income ratio above 43% is considered to be too much debt.
Running up $50,000 in credit card debt is not impossible. About two million Americans do it every year. Paying off that bill?
Meanwhile, the outstanding debt does not go away. The debt may be sold to a third-party collection agency. The collection agency can then pursue repayment, hoping to profit from the unpaid debt obligations it now owns. Once a collection agency has your account, things can potentially become tense.
It's not at all uncommon for households to be swimming in more that twice as much credit card debt. But just because a $15,000 balance isn't rare doesn't mean it's a good thing. Credit card debt is seriously expensive. Most credit cards charge between 15% and 29% interest, so paying down that debt should be a priority.
Slightly fewer Americans carry credit card debt than did earlier this year and late last year. 48% of credit cardholders report having a credit card balance, compared to 50% in June 2024 and 49% in November 2023. The most common reason for credit card debt is emergency or unexpected expenses.
It's a good idea to pay off your credit card balance in full whenever you're able. Carrying a monthly credit card balance can cost you in interest and increase your credit utilization rate, which is one factor used to calculate your credit scores.
Your home provides security to the lender that you would pay back the debt. If you owe money for most other debts like credit cards and medical bills, you (usually) did not sign a security agreement. So, the creditors cannot seize your home to pay the debt.
Here's the average debt balances by age group: Gen Z (ages 18 to 23): $9,593. Millennials (ages 24 to 39): $78,396. Gen X (ages 40 to 55): $135,841.
Nearly half of Americans at least somewhat agree with the statement, "I am living paycheck to paycheck," as of the third quarter of 2024. The share shrank slightly between the second and third quarters of this year, but in 2022, less than 40% of Americans felt this way, Bank of America reports.
The Gen X debt situation
The cohort also has the largest share of people with debt, nearly 99% carry some type of balance, LendingTree found. Gen Xers led the way in three of the four categories analyzed. The group — between 44 and 59 years old — has the highest median credit card, auto loan and student loan balances.
The bottom line. While a regular 401(k) loan can technically be used to pay off credit card debt, you can't typically use a 401(k) hardship loan for these purposes. But either way, borrowing from your retirement fund to pay off credit card debt is a high-stakes decision with significant risks to your financial future.
So, for example, if you take home $2,500 a month, you should never pay more than $250 a month towards your credit card bills. So, take a look at your budget and bank statements and calculate how much money you're spending monthly to pay down debt. If that amount is greater than 10%, you might have a problem.
RED FLAG #3: Overly frugal
Here are a few things to look for to tell when thrifty crosses the line to stingy. Reducing meals or medications, or pressuring a partner to do so, to avoid spending money. Putting themselves or others in danger to avoid spending money, like driving on bald tires to avoid buying new ones.
If you fail to make payments on your credit card, the credit card company may declare your debt uncollectable. This process is referred to as a credit card debt "write-off" (also called a credit card "charge-off"). Writing off a debt allows a credit card company to report it as a loss and reduce its tax liability.