Struggling to pay bills, more Americans turn to credit cards and loans: Elisabeth Buchwald
Inflation in the U.S. is more than three times higher than it was last year, straining Americans’ finances.
Without stimulus checks and a lapse in monthly Child Tax Credit payments, Americans in dire financial circumstances are swiping credit cards more frequently compared to a year ago. But they continue to hold back from dipping into savings and retirement accounts relative to last year.
Some 13% of U.S. households found it very difficult to pay for their usual expenses from March 30 to April 10, according to data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey. Within that cohort, 44% of respondents said they’re using credit cards or loans to meet needs, while 34% said they’re using money from savings or retirement accounts.
Last year when inflation was rising at a 2.6% annual rate, some 9% of households surveyed then found it very difficult to pay for usual expenses, according to data from a prior Household Pulse Survey. That survey also found that 34% of households used credit cards or loans to meet spending needs and 31% dipped into savings.
Comments are closed.
