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The average consumer has a handful of credit cards and is in more than $6,300 in debt from swiping them. That’s the summary from Experian’s recently released State of Credit report, which looked at some of the habits of American spending in 2017.
The report is centered around the average person sitting somewhere between those with high credit scores and those struggling with mounting debt. Her name is Jane Smith and you’re her.
“Jane holds 3.1 credit cards, and has an average balance of $6,354. She also holds 2.5 retail credit cards with an additional $1,841 in balances. Her mortgage balance is $201,811, and her other debt — mostly car loan debt — totals $24,706. Her credit score is 67,” the report says.
Of course, depending on where you live around the nation, these numbers could be quite different. In some states, they would be much higher, while in other locales, they would be lower.
Those regional differences are most pronounced when looking at credit scores. For instance, with an average score of 709, Minnesotans have the highest credit scores, according to Experian. Vermont came in at #2 with 702. The lowest scores belong to Mississippi, which came in at 647. “Louisiana (650), Georgia (654), and Alabama (664) come next,” the report says.
When it comes to generational stats, young people, predictably, had the lowest credit scores, since many of them have fresh credit histories. When it came to which group had the most credit card debt, Generation X (born between 1966 and 1981) were the biggest culprits, according Experian’s data.
Gen X’ers had an average credit card balance of $7,750, a slight difference from baby boomers ($7,550). Gen Y’ers had $4,315 followed by Gen Z’s $2,047.
Whatever your financial situation is, don’t let these numbers scare or define you. You have complete control when it comes to getting out of debt. As a resource, Team Clark has started a Facebook group call “Ditch Your Debt.”
This page will be our hub for all things debt-related, from how to catch up on bills to how to negotiate with credit card companies if you’ve missed a payment. In the process, we hope we’ll all keep each other honest and on track as we work towards our goals of being debt-free.
RELATED: Your guide to paying off credit card debt
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