DAYTON — Nearly two-thirds of Americans are carrying credit card debt for at least a year, according to a new study from Bankrate.
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“It’s disappointing to hear, but it’s not terribly surprising,” Stephen Kates, Bankrate financial analyst, said.
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He added that they’re seeing people “feeling more squeezed than they were even a few years ago,” citing inflation.
Of those with debt, Bankrate found 41 percent say it was an unexpected expense.
“This is no fault of their own,” Kates said. “They had a medical issue. They had an emergency that simply put them in a position where they didn’t have enough savings to cover it.”
Fewer than half say they have a plan to pay off their debt, which Kates called a “chilling statistic.”
“There’s no other way to erase this debt than to figure out how to pay it down,” he said.
He told News Center 7 that he advises people in debt to create a plan and think small.
“You have to be ready to be patient and be committed to month after month, chipping away at this as best you can,” Kates said. “And that’s the long-term mindset that you have to have.”
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