I was reading the Federal Reserve’s 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances report and saw that a person with a bank-issued credit card has a balance of $5,100 on the card, on average.
The good news is that this report also stated that 56% of people with a bank-issued credit card pay the balance off each month. Very cool.
My husband and I got caught up in over-using our credit card a few years ago. We didn't have quite as high a balance as the 'average person', but it was still stressful. We had hit a rough patch and, at the time, it seemed like there was no other choice but to use a credit card to pay for things.
Looking back, though, I would have insisted we eat more Ramen noodles to save money.
