Managing and paying off debt
Tips on changing your spending habits and being more intentional about money
Americans like to spend money. Most of us have an average of four credit cards in our wallets. Many of us use them to pay for things we don’t really need but think we should have.
American humorist, actor, and author Will Rogers famously said, “Too many people spend money they earned… to buy things they don’t want… to impress people that they don’t like.” And oftentimes people don’t even have the money for these things. Instead they rack up their credit card debt, accumulating a lot of interest along the way.
During the height of the pandemic, Americans reevaluated their relationship with money and all that it buys, and they suddenly became experts at saving money. Due to reduced spending during lockdown and the influx of government stimulus checks, Americans accumulated $2.1 trillion in excess savings.
They (re)discovered the comforts of home and how there is a feeling of contentment in simplicity. Credit card debt went on the decline, with card balances going from $850 billion in early 2020 to less than $750 billion in the spring of 2021.
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