Texans are going deeper into debt, and the credit card interest and fees paid in 2022 were incredibly burdensome.
According to a new study by Lending Tree, Texans paid $11.8 billion in interest and fees on credit cards last year. Only Californians ($17.1 billion) paid more. Florida was third at $10.6 billion.
"It's really a function of just how many people are in the state," says Matt Schulz, LendingTree chief credit analyst. "There's a whole lot of money being paid.
Nationwide, Americans paid $133.1 billion in credit card interest and fees. That was $25.0 billion more than 2021, an increase of 23.1%.
“When you combine the seven interest rate increases from the Fed in 2022 with rampant inflation, you’ll find that more people were forced to rely on their credit cards,” Schulz says. “That made it harder for them to pay their bills in full each month, creating a massive jump in the amount of interest that credit cardholders paid.
"Unfortunately, that isn’t likely to change anytime soon. The Fed isn’t expected to lower rates until late this year at the earliest and perhaps not until next year. So it’s important for people to prioritize paying down their high-interest credit card debt as soon as possible.”
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