We Paid $113 Billion In Credit Card Fees And Interest Last Year

MoneyTips

America's debt load continues to rise. According to the latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit from the New York Federal Reserve, our collective debt is $13.54 trillion as of Q4 2018.

While the vast majority is mortgage debt, credit card debt topped a trillion dollars recently, and we're compounding the problem by paying more in interest and fees on our credit card accounts.

According to MagnifyMoney, Americans paid $113.3 billion in credit card interest and fees in 2018. That's a 12% increase over the $101 billion paid in 2017 and a 49% increase from the $76.3 billion paid in 2013. Credit card interest and fees are expected to top $122 billion in 2019.

Increased average annual percentage rates (APRs) on credit cards are partly to blame. Federal Reserve data shows that the average interest rate hit 16.86% in 201...

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