• Making the minimum payment on a $4,800 balance, at the average interest rate of 17%, it would take you 39 years and 7 months to pay off. You would pay $10,818.63 in interest alone, creating a grand total of $15,619, just for the privilege of charging the $4,800.

• On average, today’s consumer has a total of 14 credit obligations on record at a credit bureau. These include credit cards(such as department store charge cards, gas cards, or bank cards) and installment loans (auto loans, mortgage loans, student loans, etc.). Not included are savings and checking accounts (typically not reported to a credit bureau.) Of these 14 credit obligations, 10 are likely to be credit cards and 4 are likely to be installment loans. (Source: FICO, Jan., 2008)

• $84,454 is the average household’s personal debt, including mortgages, cars loans, credit cards, and other personal debt. (Source: USA Today Oct. 4, 2004)

• The National Debt is $9,579,381,575,933.70 (Source: Bureau of Public Debt, August, 2008)

• Number of households in the U.S. is approximately 110 Million (Source: US Bureau of Census, Jan., 2007)

• Each household’s portion of the National Debt based on the above $87,085.59

• Each household’s portion of the National Debt, after factoring in the promised interest on debt instruments, promised government retirement pensions, promised Social Security and promised Medicare is $473,456.00 (Source: USA Today, Oct. 4, 2004)

• The National Savings Rate dipped below zero in June, 2005 and remains in at low levels even today (Source: Federal Reserve)

• The average undergraduate finishes school with $19,200 in debt. This includes student loans and credit card card debt(Source: Nellie Mae Sept 2006)

• Thirty-three percent of Americans carry non-mortgage debt in excess of $10.000. Twenty percent of respondents to a recent survey admit to over $20,000. (Source:Center for American Progress)

• There are a total of 1.2 billion credit and retail cards in North America. The average American household is solicited seven times a year by credit card companies. (Source: American Consumer Credit Counseling)

• About one third of the housing units (approximately 32.3 Million) carry no mortgage. (Source: Nextag.com)

• APR rates, on the CASH-TIL-PAYDAY loans of trapped borrowers, range from 275% to 375%. The average cash ’til payday borrower pays $800 to borrow $325. Over ninety percent of the loans go to repeat borrowers. (Source: Center for Responsible Lending)

• On average, the typical credit card purchase is 112% higher than if paying cash. (Sources: Consumer Bankers Association, National Restaurant Association)

• Revolving debt held by U.S. consumers currently totals $873 billion; that’s about 31% higher than it was only five years ago. The figure has more than doubled in a decade. (Source: MSN Money)

• According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the number of homes entering foreclosure hit a record in the first quarter of 2008.

• The average amount of credit card debt, in households with at least one credit card, is now approaching $9,800.00, 167% higher than it was fifteen years ago.(Source: Cardweb.com)

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