Credit Card Machines 802 Home

Credit Card Is Adding The Silver Lining To Your Pocket
By Sarah Jones

In the new millennium plastic money or credit cards has
rendered a new zing factor to your pocket. This has not only
made you economically more flexible but subsequently added
glamour to your financial image as well. No more bulging out hip
pockets with excess of liquid cash. Instead, the slimmer your
pocket; the smarter you look. But behind all these inviting
attributes of credit cards there seems to be a trap laid out for
people who are impulsive and careless
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The usage of credit cards have been on the highest spree this
decade and along with the usage, the debt rates has also
somersaulted sky high. Majority of the citizens of the U.S. owe
thousands of dollars as credit card bills. While gross dollar
volume on bank credit cards has increased 2.5 times since 1994,
the average transaction has increased about 16% over the past
decade. The average transaction on a general purpose credit
card, carrying the VISA, MasterCard, American Express, or
Discover brand, is now approaching $102, compared to $87 in
1994.

23rd Dec. 2004 is termed as Black Thursday and is poised to be
a voluminous day in credit card usage in 2004. On this day
Americans have used credit and debit cards to pay for nearly $12
billion. This computes to an average of more than $8 million per
minute; however it could easily top $20 million per minute
during peak hours.

In the present era credit card debt carried by an average
American is about $8,562 (Approx.). The total U.S. credit card
debt in the first quarter of 2002 was approximately $60 billion
(Approx.). Total finance charges Americans paid in 2001is $50
billion (Approx.).

Recently, the New York Times examined how the use of credit has
taken off dramatically in the United States since 1990. While
the number of people holding charge cards grew about 75 percent.
This went up from 82 million in 1990 to 144 million in 2003 and
the amount they charged during that period grew by a much larger
percentage. It is approximately 350 percent, from $338 billion
to $1.5 trillion.

Nellie Mae, the nation’s largest maker of student loans says
that the average undergraduate student has $2,200 in credit card
debt. That figure jumps to $5,800 for graduate students. David
Sandor, a vice president at Visa USA, says that only 54 percent
of college students pay off their credit card balances every
month.

The average credit card interest rate is around 18.9%.
Approximately half of all credit card holders pay only their
minimum monthly requirements. There are a total of 1.2 billion
credit and retail cards in North America. The number of credit
card holders who declared bankruptcy last year was a huge 1.3
million.

Credit cards have undoubtedly given us better mileage in
handling our finance; it has made us mobile and flexible in cash
handling. But it is extremely important to make proper
utilization of this plastic money. There lies a big black trench
of debts if you use it recklessly. These slim plastic cards can
often be the cause of bulk debts if one is impulsive or unwise.

For better insight in this topic please view:
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/card-starter.html
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/card-counseling.html

About the Author: Sarah Jones is a contributing writer to
http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com And is currently working on
a special section in the site called do it yourself where you
can eliminate your debts and become debt free... Email:
sarah@debtconsolidationcare.com

Source: http://www.isnare.com