Debt Study: The average American has $155,000 in debt

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - The average American has around $155,000 in debt according to a new study by Nerdwallet. That’s an increase of more than 6% from last year.

This same study found that revolving credit card debt is actually down almost 14% for most families. This means you are likely paying about $100 dollars less in interest payments throughout the year.

Sara Rathner a personal finance expert with NerdWallet says any amount of savings is a good thing. She adds the problem is, we are paying more in other areas of our life.

“Over the past two years median incomes are down 3% but the cost of living is up 7%. A lot of people are struggling to make ends meet especially has housing and medical expenses are up. There are necessary costs that everyone is facing,” said Rathner.

She says to combat all this start small and set aside a little bit of money to replenish your emergency savings. Especially if you’ve dipped into it over the last year, get it to $500.

She says pull out your credit cards and see what the limits are. It’s not ideal, but your credit card could help with an emergency.

“And if you have student loans for example. those are still in forbearance and so you still have a few months where you can apply the money you normally would have put toward your student loans into other money goals,” added Rathner.

If you’ve budgeted as much as you can and you’ve cut expenses down to the bone, Rather says it’s actually a great time to job hunt.

She says increasing your income helps you pay down debt and reach those money goals faster.

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