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Friday, July 29, 2011

Credit Cards & Debt

According to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. 1 in 5 adults worries about debt most if not all of the time. These consumers say that if they bought an item on a credit card in the past month, more than one third will not pay it off when the bill comes.

The individuals that suffer the most anxiety over their debt are at risk for stress-related illnesses, such as depression, ulcers or heart attacks.

The poll indicates that more than 40 million Americans are feeling serious stress due to the money they owe, whether it's for credit cards or other forms of debt.

The AP-GfK poll stated that the median credit card debt in June was $800. Approximately 4 in 10 people surveyed owe more than $1,000 in credit card debt. 1 in every 10 owes $10,000 or more.

Americans who reported the highest stress levels were more likely than others to say they had debt due to medical bills, that their financial situation was "very poor," that they purchase things on their credit card that they know they cannot pay in full when the bill arrives.  These victims also stated that they don't trust themselves to manage their credit cards.  They are pessimistic about their future because of their personal finances. 

The AP-GfK poll was conducted June 16-20 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. 1001 adults nationwide were interviewed through cell phones and landlines.  Results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.


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