Hat tip to Get Rich Slowly blog for including this chart in their recent post about pros/cons of credit card debt.

Questions for students:

1. How would you describe the trend from 2003 to 2009 and then 2009 to 2015?
2. What may have caused the drop from 2009-2011? Who was behind this change? Credit card companies? Consumers?
3. Estimate the average credit card debt per American household (note: there are about 125 million households in 2015).
4. Are purchases made by cardholders who pay off their balances every month be included on this graph?
5. Which quarter of the year would you expect to see the biggest credit card balances? Why?

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.