Thoughts on the above chart? I've talked about rent crippling working class people. Home ownership has done the same. How do people make it work under such a climate?
90 day credit card delinquency rate reaches 14%
- Thread starter PabloNole
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It's difficult for some people. I never said otherwise.
I think rents will come back into line over time. They got out of line at the same time housing prices took off.
7.0% 2021
6.5% 2022
3.4% 2023
2.9% 2024
2.7% 2025
Take it for what it's worth but the National Apartment Association says more strict regulations have helped drive prices up. I'd take a look at that.
Regulation Increases Rent Costs, New Study Finds | National Apartment Association
One thing I would do in the meantime is increase the dependent care credit (even if it means reducing the child credit). Today it often takes two incomes to make ends meet and that becomes very difficult with the high cost of childcare. I'd also look into regulations impacting the childcare industry to see if some things could be done to help reduce costs.
Rent will come in line in what way? Half of many people income goes towards rent. How does that go down to cover for the relatively low pay these people receive? You really think housing is going to get cheaper?
if half of my income was going to rent, I’d move and rent something I can afford.
Meh. You shouldn’t do either of those things until you can comfortably afford to do so, regardless of coffee or avocado consumption.
Nearly as inadvisable would be purchasing anything on a credit card that you cannot pay cash for. Or using a credit card to extend your lifestyle beyond that threshold. People survived for a long time without the latest iPhone, streaming services, flat screen tvs, iPads, name brand clothing, wasteful groceries like sodas, etc.
Live within your means. If you don’t like it, change your means.
Easier said than done, especially since most people have less than a few pay checks worth of savings.
Which is generally a product of poor financial management. People live beyond their means now. Blame it on social media or whatever else. My grandfather tore his paper towel sheets into fourths when I was a kid. He pinched every penny because that’s what he had to do to raise 3 kids while working at the shipyard. Credit cards, and especially government handouts, should never, ever be seen as some off-ramp for spending beyond your means.
I do not understand why you are lecturing me about my finances when you know absolutely nothing about my finances or lifestyle.
As I stated in the post to which you responded: “I believe that the better option is to consider all of the factors: personal, circumstantial, societal, etc., that are placing tens of millions of our fellow Americans in dire financial situations and to attempt to develop comprehensive strategies for assisting and supporting these people.”
Though you state that you share my concern, I see no expression of that concern in your posts, only judgment bordering on disdain.
has there ever been a point in time where there is not some segment of the population that struggles financially??
You call it judgement and disdain but I call it reality and life. Encouraging people to spend money they don't have at 20%+ interest is financial suicide.
Assume we have a friend who is doing this. I would advise them to do whatever they can to avoid this financial death spiral. Drive a beater. No vacations. Reduce or entirely eliminate streaming subscriptions. Keep your heat at 65 degrees and wear a sweater. Even get a second job if necessary. Definitely don't spend $8k to take the family to Disney World on credit. I'm showing my concern by advising them to do whatever is possible to get out of the financial death spiral.
You can consider their circumstances and show empathy all you want but it doesn't help them.
For the record I don't have disdain for anybody unless they're criminals. I have a lot of compassion for people who are having difficulty due to no fault of their own. But for the grace of God go I. That's why I'm charitable. I have far less compassion for people who make poor life choices then whine about the outcome. There are an amazing number of people like that.
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You do realize the people publishing these statistics are under the thumb of the WH?
Just like the labor statistics released by the BLS.
Actual numbers are likely considerably worse.
Why do you think the WH wants to cap credit card rates?
This this this. While there are a lot of people who struggle to meet the basic needs and there is a severe cost of living issue in this country, we also need to stop this “keeping up with the jones” mentality. This country has increasingly turned into “whatever I own or share on social media is my value to society”.
it’s ok to drive a used Honda accord. It’s ok to have a phone that is more than two years old. It’s ok to live in a small house.
What’s funny is most immigrants know this and that is why so many are passing Americans by. Johnny keeps thinking he deserves to lease that new f150, buy a new big screen every two years, have premium parking at Clemson games, and eat a good steak and whisky every Friday night.
then he bitches about how expensive gas and eggs are.
Stop falling into the consumerism trap. Put as much money in an index fund as you can every month. Max out your 401k. And don’t try to compete with your dimbass friends.
it doesn’t mean you will be able to buy a house, but at least it puts you in a significantly better position to not be be dependent on the govt.
I already answered that question. Trump proposed capping credit card interest rates at 10% because he understands that a lot of people are getting killed by high credit card interest. People like Elizabeth Warren agree and so do I (although maybe closer to 13%). Opponents say that banks would reduce how much credit they extend to less creditworthy people. I'm sure that's true but I think it would be a good thing. I think people should learn to live within their means. I don't support giving drugs to a drug addict.
Just to lean into this even more…
my family does fine. We are capable of living in a bigger home, driving more expensive cars, eating out more often and still being able to save.
yet I don’t pay for a sub here. When I read books, I get them through our public library app for free. We don’t have cable tv. my personal MacBook is 10 years old. I rarely buy clothes. I don’t go to Clemson games. If we want to go out on a boat, we will rent one. Instead of buying a second home, we will rent for the week or two a year we would use it.
We take very nice vacations and will go to nice events, but when it comes to “stuff”, we live very basic and prefer to watch our investment accounts grow. Nothing beats putting your money in assets that don’t have annual taxes, don’t have maintenance, and provide long-term growth.
these points are practical and used to be that everyone knew them. i suspect though that the science of persuasion via social media and advertisements has advanced to such a degree that many people no longer are able to exercise control over their actions.
i recall being in a similar (living in a super desirable but super expensive location surrounded by dumbass people) situation but fortunately managed to cut that cord in the nick of time. but that was a couple decades ago...maybe today i would be too hypnotized to know better
Except you don't seem to understand the core reason for much of the credit card debt.
Most people aren't trying to purposely use their credit card, it's that they can cover daily expenses in the Trump economy.
Tariffs, a war, and poor policy are the reason.
"most people", there are 219 million people in the US with credit cards..."most" would intimate more than 50% that would mean about 110million people or about 1/3 of Americans.....Now you might be right, but if 1/3 of Americans have to use credit cards to cover daily expense, then democrats will run away with the 2026 election
I think you're wrong about some things. The affordability problem isn't new under Trump and it's not unique to the USA. The biggest concerns seem to be housing, health insurance, and groceries and those things aren't impacted by tariffs. I agree about the war/gas prices but that's just now starting to make an impact.
Consumer credit card debt:
2023 $986 billion
2024 $1,210 billion
2025 $1,180 billion (slight decline)
Inflation was extremely high from mid 2021-mid 2023 but was much lower in 2024 (Biden) and 2025 (Trump).
Wrt credit card debt I've been on record that most people need to exercise more discipline. I can't tell you how many people I know who shouldn't be poor but they spend beyond their means. They take out big student loans to attend private colleges where they major in things that won't provide a return on investment. They eat out a lot or have food delivered. They put a $10,000 family vacation on their credit card. They upgrade their phone every 2 years and lease late model cars. The list goes on but I assure you that there's a ton of that going on. I realize that there are people that don't do these things and they still struggle. That's long been the case and maybe it's a bit worse today than it was a year ago but it's still not way out of line compared to recent history.
Inflation exceeded wage growth from 2021-2023.
March 2026 wages were up 3.4% year over year
March 2026 inflation was up 3.3% year over year
The war hadn't started to make a huge impact until April and I agree it's a huge problem. But suggesting that the affordability problem was caused by Trump isn't backed up by the statistics. I think the better argument would be to say that the war has distracted the Trump administration from focusing on solutions.
At it’s peak, Bideinflation was more than twice the rate that we are seeing under Trump.
I don't get it. You seem to recognize that we've had an affordability problem so quite some time now. This problems has spanned decades with wages not keeping up with prices. So how are these people the ones to blame? Isn't the system to blame?
I also want to point out that under Trump not only are consumers suffering from high prices but also no jobs. His tariffs, his war, his reckless spending. It all adds up to consumers gutted at every angle. That's something he does have control over. And those decisions have helped to lead to all this credit card debt. High inflation combined with few jobs is a bad combination.
I think you read my posts blaming the government for much of the housing problem. They kept interest rates artificially low for too long and people rushed to buy using 2.5% mortgages. That surge in demand drove up prices and now people don't want to sell and give up those great rates. That contributes to a supply problem. I said that's going to take some time to resolve it's way through the market.
Healthcare is a long standing problem. Our healthcare system sucks but IMO not simply because the free market has failed. Our current system has so many rules and regulations that the free market aspect left long ago. I'm not totally opposed to some sort of government healthcare but a lot of things would have to change to get costs down. I don't think the government has the courage to do what's necessary to make that happen. Regardless that has little to do with a recent increase in credit card delinquencies.
Overall affordability has been a growing problem for decades. I blame two things. One is that we've become a global economy and a lot of high paying manufacturing jobs have gone offshore. U.S. companies can't stay in business paying $50/hr when their foreign competitors are paying less than $10/hr. The other thing is automation. Today more jobs require using your head and fewer jobs require using your back. IMO we haven't been very successful educating people for the demands and opportunities of the modern economy.
Affordability and wealth gap are problems in Canada & Western Europe just like they are in the U.S. It's not so simple to just blame things like tariffs.
High prices combined with fewer jobs has nothing to do with higher credit card debt? Are you even listening to yourself?
Wage growth has been greater than inflation for the last year and a half until last month.
Credit card delinquency rate:
Q4 2004 3.14%
Q4 2025 3.03%
Q1 2026 2.90%
Credit Card Debt:
Q4 2024 $1.08T
Q4 2025 $1.06T
May 2026 $1.08T
Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks (DRCCLACBS) | FRED | St. Louis Fed
I don't understand why you are lecturing anybody. You seem to be tilting at windmills of your own making.
I have not seen anybody in this thread, myself included, encouraging people to spend money they do not have at 20% interest.
Empathy shown to a person who is suffering is always helpful.
I have not seen any whining about the outcomes of making poor life choices in this thread. I do see a lot of assuming that financial suffering is always the result of poor life choices, or at least only focusing on that one aspect of the circumstances that have resulted in tens of millions of people struggling mightily.
Affordability is a very legitimate issue but it's not something that Trump created (at least until the Iran war). It's also not something either party can quickly fix. When I say people need to cut back and do everything possible to get out of high interest debt it's not due to a lack of empathy. It's because taking care of themselves is their best option.