A Lifetime of Debt: The Financial Journey of the Average American

You may be shocked by some of the statistics in this infographic about the debts most people take on in their lives.

A LIFE Time of Debt: The Financial Journey of The Average American

• The first payment-based debt for the average American gets incurred while still in high school.
• DEBT – The Department Store Card
  • Interest rates on department store cards can be as staggering as 33%.
  • Target is in the top 10 issuers of credit cards.
• Over 173 Million Americans own at least one credit card
• DEBT – The First Credit Card
  • The average rate for standard bank credit cards is around 19%.
  • 84% of college students have credit cards.
  • Only 2% of undergrads have no credit history.
  • The average undergrad has $3,200 in credit card debt.
• DEBT – The Undergraduate Student Loan
  • The average student amasses over $20,000 in student debt toward his/her first degree.
• DEBT – The Graduate Student Loan
  • On average, master’s degree students take on an additional $17,000 in student loans.
  • Doctoral students amass another $29,000
  • Med School graduates leave school with an average of $113K in debt.
  • Half of all college graduates have 4 or more credit cards.
  • The average graduate student has $8,600 owing on his/her credit cards.
• DEBT – The Next Credit Card
  • ¾ of American households have multiple credit cards.
• DEBT – The Auto Loan
  • The average auto loan is $30,738, a 40% rise in the last 10 years.
  • Most auto loans are over 6 years in length.
  • This is double the loan term of a typical auto loan 25 years ago.
  • The average auto loan interest rate varies between 7% and 9%.
• DEBT – Mortgage
  • The average home mortgage costs around $240,000
  • After 30 years of making payments, a homeowner with a $240,000 mortgage loan will have paid over $580,000 on his/her house.
• DEBT – The Second of Third Auto Loan
  • Two-thirds of all American households own 2 or more automobiles.
  • Most Americans use loans to finance every vehicle they drive.
• DEBT – More Credit Cards
  • By age 60, the average American has 5 or more credit cards.
  • The average balance per household in America with credit card debt is $10,637.
  • The median credit limit on family credit cards in America is $18,000.
• DEBT – The Refinance
  • Refinancing a mortgage is often an attempt to consolidate overwhelming debt from a variety of sources.
  • On average, about half of refinances result in a higher overall loan amount.
• The average American has a total of 13 credit obligations right now.
• Over a lifetime, the average American will pay over $600,000 in interest.