American consumers' credit card debt increased by $46 billion in the second quarter of 2022. Total credit card debt for the end of June was $887 billion, up 13 percent from the same period in 2021.
If this is how shoppers are dealing with rising prices, credit experts say they are just making things worse for themselves.
The Federal Reserve is trying to tame inflation by raising interest rates. The first thing banks usually do when the Fed makes it more expensive to borrow is to raise credit card interest.
Credit cards are among the most expensive loans, with the average rate at 22%, according to LendingTree. According to Bankrate, those rates are the highest since 1995.
Tom Collens, a retired credit counselor in New Orleans, says consumers with debt may want to start pinching pennies.
"Look for store brands instead of name brands," he advised, and start looking for deals.
Then use the money you save to get aggressive with your credit card debt.
"Attack the ones that are the lowest balance so you can see some progress," Collens recommended. "If I put all my extra money into an account (balance) that is $600, instead of putting into one that is $3,000, $600 is going to pay off pretty quickly."
Then you take what you were putting into those payments and go after the bigger stuff.
