Credit Card Debt Is Down 10% From Last Year in the United States

Hey, look at that! Something GOOD that came out of 2020!

I don't know about you, but we haven't spent money on much of anything other than groceries and bills this year. And now, since it's been a solid eight months since the pandemic started, we have numbers that prove that we, in fact, haven't spent much this year.

The latest data from TransUnion shows that Americans have 10% less credit card debt than this time last year...

via GIPHY

...which means that we have more money for Christmas purchases, right?

via GIPHY

Okay, maybe that's a bad idea. Either way, pat yourselves on the back! Credit card usage dropped to 10.5% in July through September, which is about $5,075.

Part of this can be attributed to the stimulus money that came through at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic; a lot of people used those funds to pay down debt. Also, because of the widespread unemployment, people were spending less than normal during the pandemic.

According to the Detroit Free Press, this is actually completely opposite of the trends for the last few years, when credit card spending went up right before the holidays in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

We're very lucky in that we started saving money on daycare when the pandemic started; we've been paying down our credit card debt all year long. What about you? Have you been paying down debt or are you barely scraping by?

Just remember, before you go and buy a thousand dollars worth of gifts for people: 2020 may not be the year that you get everything you want, but it may be the year to be thankful for everything you have.