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Survey: A growing number of credit cardholders say they won’t be able to pay their next bill in full

As inflation is putting a squeeze on family budgets, and many people are relying on credit cards to pay their bills.

A new survey by LendingTree finds that cardholder confidence “crashed” in June. According to the latest Confidence Index, only 53% of cardholders felt confident they can pay their next statement in full.

That’s down 10 percentage points from May, matching the biggest monthly decline in the nearly four-year history of the Confidence Index.

“Your best move is to knock down your debt as best you can,” said Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief credit analyst. “The Federal Reserve is likely to raise rates at least a few more times in the coming months, meaning your credit card debt will only get more and more expensive.”

If you have good credit, you may want to consider getting a 0% balance transfer credit card. Or see about a low-interest personal loan.

“You can also consider calling your current credit card issuer and asking them for a lower interest rate. You’d be shocked at how often that works,” Schulz said. “What you can’t do is ignore the problem or wish it away. With rampant inflation and rising APRs, that’s a recipe for trouble.”

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