It took a little longer than originally estimated, but the total amount of U.S. consumer credit card debt totaled $1.009 trillion at the end of 2017. At the end of the previous year, U.S. credit card debt stood at $980 billion, just missing a prediction that the $1 trillion mark would be reached in 2016.

The average American household increased its credit card debt by 6% to $8,600, compared with the end of 2016. In the fourth quarter of 2007, household credit card debt averaged $8,461, the previous high.

American consumers hit the pause button in the first quarter of 2017, and actually paid down their credit card debt by $38.6 billion, reducing the total outstanding to $911.6 billion when charge-offs are added in. In the second quarter, however, Americans borrowed another $35 billion on their credit cards, adding nearly as much as they paid off in the first quarter.

Americans added a record $927.2 billion to credit card debt last year, most of it in the fourth quarter, when the debt jumped by more than $50 billion.

To say the WalletHub researchers are concerned is, perhaps, an understatement:

Only four times in the past 30 years have we spent so much in a year. And in each of those prior cases, the charge-off rate – currently hovering near historical lows – rose the following year. There wasn’t nearly as much kindling on the fire, either.

So it’s not a question of whether consumers are weakening financially, but rather how long this trend toward pre-recession habits will last and just how bad it will get.

Visit the WalletHub website for more data and some tips from managing credit card debt.

Get Our Free Investment Newsletter

I have read, and agree to the Terms of Use

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.