If you carry a balance on your credit cards, you might
assume that the amount of your debt is in line with the
average credit card debt in America. After all, millions
have thousands of dollars in debt and if everyone's doing
it, then it must be okay - right? That line of thinking can
be deadly to your financial future. Here are some things to
keep in mind when analyzing your credit card debt...
1. What Do You Think is Average?
If you think that your credit card debt is in line with the
average credit card debt in America, you probably have some
preconceived notions of what "average" really means. If
you've been following statistics, don't kid yourself --
statistics can be misleading.
If you're quoting that the average American's credit card
debt is about $9,000 you're wrong. Technically, that's what
the statistics say, but that's not the real picture. The
average person owes less than $3,000 in credit card debt
according to MSN's Money Central.
The $9,000 that people quote is a statistic that was
obtained by dividing the total credit card debt in the
United States by the number of credit card holders. Let's
say (for simplicity's sake) that there are 5 credit card
users in the country. Four of them have credit card debts
of $2,000 each. The fifth has a credit card debt of $50,000.
If you use the "statistic method" that's behind the $9,000
figure that so many people go by, the average credit card
debt is more than $11,000 according to the model, although
almost every single credit card holder has a debt of just
$2,000. Starting to see the picture?
2. What's Good For Mr. Goose Isn't Necessarily Good For Mr.
Gander
Let's call you Mr. (or Ms.) Gander for a moment. You have
$10,000 in credit card debt, but that's okay because your
friend Mr. Goose has $10,000 in credit debt too. Time for a
quick reality check...
Just because Mr. Goose has $10,000 in credit card debt
doesn't mean it's okay for you to have that much debt too.
You are not Mr. Goose. You are Mr. Gander. And regardless
of what you think, just because it's okay for Mr. Goose to
have $10,000 in credit card debt doesn't mean it's okay for
Mr. Gander too.
Mr. Goose may very well be overextended or his income might
be two or three times yours. Either way your situations are
not identical and you can't compare his credit card
situation to yours.
So before you assume that your credit card debt is in line,
ask yourself why you really think that. Are your finances
really under control, or have you been comparing your debt
to the debt of others, assuming that you're fine if you're
going along with the flow?
Remember, just because you think that your debt reflects
the "average credit card debt" in America, it doesn't mean
you have a healthy credit situation.
----------------------------------------------------
For more tips on credit cards, saving money and avoiding
getting taken, check out CreditCardTipsEtc.com, a website
that specializes in providing credit card tips, advice and
resources.
http://www.creditcardtipsetc.com
No comments:
Post a Comment