Are Grandma and Grandpa over-spending through credit cards? Companies that track consumer debt say yes.
According to last weekend’s WSJ article quoted in our last blog, Coping with Debts of the Dead, America’s Elderly are incurring unsecured credit card debt faster than other age groups.
“Debt among Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 is growing faster than for any other age group, according to the Federal Reserve. As of 2007, the latest year for which figures were available, the median debt level of that age group was $40,130, up from $27,458 in 2004…. Strategic Business Insights’ Macromonitor conducted a separate survey and found that households headed by Americans 75 and older carried an average of $7,200 in credit-card debt in 2010, more than triple the 2008 level.”
This holiday season, perhaps it’s time to make sure Grandma and Grandpa aren’t financially distressed.