How Much the Average Middle-Class Person Owes in Credit Card Debt

Many of us are taught that debt is bad and should be avoided. However, if managed properly, some types of debt can be advantageous. For instance, debt that may improve a person’s net worth or financial position can be considered “good debt.” However, any debt that’s difficult to repay or offers no long-term benefits is typically called “bad debt”.

When it comes to bad debt, several types, like high-interest or payday loans, are difficult to repay and can worsen your financial situation. And then there’s credit card debt, which plagues a large percentage of the American population.

Credit Card Debt Statistics

Credit card debt is arguably the worst type of debt and the biggest threat to building wealth. With high interest rates and low minimum payments, you could pay on your balances for a significant part of your life.

Read more at GOBankingRates

Have a tax law question?

Our #IRS Interactive Tax Assistant has answers.

Watch this short video to learn more:

https://youtu.be/y6HkaBkdKdU

• I am reaching out to you to share information on the The Interactive Tax Assistant (ITA) tool. This tool provides answers to several tax law questions specific to your individual circumstances. Based on your input, it can determine if you must file a tax return, your filing status, if you can claim a dependent, if the type of income you have is taxable, if you're eligible to claim a credit, or if you can deduct expenses.

Jose L. Santiago

Public Affairs Specialist

Tax Outreach, Partnership and Education

Email: jose.l.santiago@irs.gov

FDIC’s Gruenberg speaks on FDIC’s plans for economic inclusion

Good morning. I would like to begin by thanking the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and your President, Jesse Van Tol, for inviting me to take part in your Just Economy Conference. 

For over 30 years, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition has been a tireless advocate for economic opportunity in America. Through a range of community development activities at the local, state, regional, and national level, your 700 member organizations have made an enormous impact in improving the quality of life for millions of people in our country. 

In particular, you have been perhaps the leading voice for the Community Reinvestment Act, which since its enactment in 1977 has been the foundation of access to credit, investment, and basic banking services on a responsible basis for low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color in the United States.

The new CRA rule issued by the federal banking agencies adapts CRA to the changing nature of the banking business and strengthens its provisions to carry out its critically important public purpose. We are firmly committed to the support of the rule and believe it is entirely consistent with the statute.

Read more at FDIC.GOV

See The Most Advanced SELF-SERVICE CHECK CASHING ATM

Check Cashing, Money Transfer, Bill Payment, Mobile Reload, ATM and more AND No cashiers needed!

At Maya we believe in providing better access to affordable financial products and services for the unbanked and underbanked.

Maya is a social initiative technology company that provides financial services infrastructure for under-served communities in the U.S and abroad. One third of the U.S. and over 2.5 billion people worldwide rely on expensive alternative financial services. Maya provides fast, convenient and low cost financial services with a self service kiosk that takes cash and dispenses cash. Maya’s mission is “transforming financial services for the underserved”.

ARE YOU READY TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS?

Read more at MAYA

How Fintech Is Disrupting Traditional Banks in 2024

In sectors like mobile banking and commission-free trading, fintech companies have had a profound on financial incumbents. In other areas, the future of banking and fintech is still being developed.

Fintech is growing up.

Over the last few decades, a generation of startups have surfed a wave of new technology spanning digital payments, roboadvisors, blockchain, and more, staking out a share in new and existing financial markets. Meanwhile, many incumbent financial service providers have sunk or swum based on their ability to anticipate, react to, or adopt new technology.

For the last three years, we at F-Prime Capital have produced our annual State of Fintech report to track the sector’s road into adolescence. 2024 marks a decade since fintech started to attract meaningful venture investment (that is, more than $10B annually), so in this year’s report we looked back on fintech’s impact on the broader finance industry.

Read more at The Financial Brand

Why the Gender Pay Gap Persists in American Businesses: Darden Report UVA

Women have progressed a lot in terms of workplace gender equity since the days of Rosie the Riveter, but elements of inequity remain stubbornly in place. In 2024, for example, women still earn around 84 cents for every dollar a man earns for the same job on average in the US – almost the same as it was twenty years ago.

The Darden Report recently caught up with Professor Allison Elias, author of “The Rise of Corporate Feminism,” to explore the history of this continuing gender pay gap, where things stand today and new research on this dynamic.

What is the gender pay gap?

The gender pay gap refers to the difference in earnings between women and men. Specifically, it is the ratio of women’s to men’s median earnings, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, for full-time workers. And importantly, the often-cited 80 percent statistic provides an incomplete picture of women’s experiences in the labor market since the gap is exacerbated for many women of color. Hispanic and Black women experience the largest gaps relative to white, non-Hispanic men.

Read more at The University of Virginia

The Low-Income Guide To Saving Money

Statistically, Americans are not prolific savers. The percentage of Americans’ disposable income that gets saved was just 3.7% at the end of 2023, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

Saving money is a task that requires planning, discipline and knowledge from anyone, but there can be additional challenges for people with smaller incomes.

Our team spoke to experts in the field of personal finance about what these challenges are and looked into the data behind them. We also asked them to share some strategies for building towards a healthy savings account on a lower income.

Who Is Considered “Low-Income”?

While this article discusses issues related to people on the lower end of the pay scale in a general sense, the term “low-income” has an official definition under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The designations of “low-income” and “very low-income” are specific figures updated each year. 

Read more at MARKETWATCH

Cash-Strapped Americans Can't Break the Overdraft Habit

Overdraft fees are like a movie monster that just won't die. No amount of public outrage or regulation can slay the beast.

But the banks aren't the only ones casting overdrafts in financial sequels: Truth is, consumers who don't properly manage their accounts, or who have money problems, keep breathing life into the overdraft dragon.

"Overdrafts are part of the small advance and loan market," explains G. Michael Moebs, CEO of Moebs Services. Other parts of that "market" include credit card cash advances, transfers from deposit accounts or small lines of credit, payday loans, pawn loans, even gifts and loans from family and friends -- and at the extreme, loan sharks. "The surprise is, no matter how much government tries to regulate and legislate away this small loan market, it keeps coming back," says Moebs. "People want and need a funding safety net."

According to Moebs Services, a consulting firm for the banking industry, overdraft revenue in the second quarter of 2011 was up b $700 million (from $30.1 billion in the first quarter to $30.8 billion) at both banks and credit unions. The average number of overdrafts per household remained fairly even.

Read more at AOL.COM

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QUOTE OF NOTE

"We see immediate benefits for people who have low incomes and who have moderate incomes [when states and cities change zoning rules to allow more housing]."

Pew's Alex Horowitz on our "After the Fact" podcast

QUOTE OF NOTE

"We have to stop thinking about [housing] as a product and more about it as like air … you need it to live."

Margaret Kaplan, president, Housing Justice Center