http://www.debt-free-debt-consolidation.com/credit-card-debt/credit-card-debt-information/credit-card-debt-facts/ Credit card debt facts are overwhelming. en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT Weblog Editor 2.0 You have heard the rumors and the wives' tales about credit card debt facts and most of them are true. It is true that Americans currently have over three trillion dollars in credit card debt. Do you know how many zeros are in three trillion? This is what three trillion looks like: $3,000,000,000,000.00. Startling Stats Now that is scary. But so are credit card debt facts. The government estimates 99.7% of all American adults have some form of debt. Not all of this debt is in credit cards, but most of it is. Here are some credit card debt facts, with the average consumer credit card debt of just under $10,000 per person and an average interest rate of 18.9%, you can expect to pay over $1,000 per year in finance charges alone. This means if you pay off twenty percent of your debt, ten percent of those payments actually go to paying off your finance charges. Your debt is still not cleared and now you are looking at another year with $1,000 in interest. If you pay the minimum payments each month, it could take 18 years to pay off your debt. The fact is, credit cards are great for the occasional purchase, but once you start making purchases that you can not immediately pay off, you are putting yourself at risk. These credit card debt facts are supposed to be alarming. Maybe your debt is not that bad, yet you are still struggling to pay off your debt. Even a debt of just $1,000 can be difficult to pay off. You put this debt on the back burner after you pay your rent, car loan, insurance, utilities, student loan and cell phone bills. Small debts can also add up. Late payments are even worse. Most credit companies will charge you 25 or 50 bucks just for paying late. This includes your finance charge. For more credit card debt information, follow the links from this page and check out the rest of the site. Don't forget to fill out a free form so that you can get the credit help you need without getting in over your head. Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:00:00 EDT