Americans in their 30s struggle with mounting debt

>> AMERICANS IN THEIR 30s HAVE A HUGE AMOUNT OF THE DEBT. >> INFLATION CAUSES MORE SPENT ON NECESSITIES. IT SEEMS MILLENNIALS HAVE BEEN HIT PARTICULARLY HARD. THEIR TOTAL DEBT IN THE FINAL QUARTER OF 2022 COLLECTIVELY WAS $4 TRILLION. THAT IS A PREPOSTEROUSLY LARGE NUMBER AND A 27% JUMP SINCE 2019. IT'S THE STEEPEST IN GREECE OF ANY AGE GROUP. >> LET'S BRING IN OUR REPORTER. THE GENERATIONAL WEALTH GAP WAS ALREADY ON THE RISE FOR MILLENNIALS. HOW DID THE PANDEMIC AMPLIFY THEIR DEBT? >> IT'S A TROUBLING NUMBER. THIS PUT THIS IN CONTEXT. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE OVERALL DEBT WE HAVE SEEN FROM U.S. HOUSEHOLDS AND THE DATA REPORTED BY THE FED THAT IS $16.9 TRILLION IN THE LAST QUARTER. THE LAST THREE MONTHS OF THE YEAR. YOU JUST POINTED TO MILLENNIALS BEING THE MOST SIGNIFICANT. THOSE IN THEIR 30s RACK UP A RECORD AMOUNT OF DEBT. HOW DID WE GET HERE? THERE ARE NUMBER OF THINGS YOU ALREADY POINTED TO, INFLATION AT RECORD HIGHS AND WE HAVE SEEN THAT COME DOWN. YOU ALSO HAVE THE FED RAISING INTEREST RATES AT A VERY RAPID PACE. THAT MEANS HIGHER RATES FOR CREDIT CARD BILLS, CAR PAYMENT AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR AGE GROUP, SOME DESCRIBE IT AS A CREDIT GAP. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THOSE LESS AFFLUENT, SQUEEZED IN MANY WAYS AND STARTED LOOKING FOR A JOB DURING THE FINANCIAL CRISIS AND ONE DECADE LATER THEY ARE SQUEEZED IN ANOTHER WAY AND THAT IS WHY THEY ARE FALLING BEHIND SIGNIFICANTLY ON THE PAYMENTS. >> THE GRAPHIC SHOWED POSSIBLE REASONS, THE HIGHER COST OF A CAR IN CHILDCARE AND MORTGAGE COSTS AND FEES AND INTEREST BEING IN DEBT ITSELF. ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE REALLY HARD TO GET RID OF. YOU NEED TO PLACE TO LIVE AND A CAR AND YOU NEED SOMEBODY TO WATCH HER KIDS WHILE YOU'RE AT WORK. WHAT DO PEOPLE DO TO CHIP AWAY AT THIS? >> IT FEELS LIKE AN ENDLESS CYCLE WHEN YOU RATTLE OFF THE HEADWINDS AGAINST HIS AGE GROUP. THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN DO. IF YOU HAVE A CREDIT CARD BALANCE, YOU CAN SEEK CREDIT CARDS THAT OFFER ZERO INTEREST RATE FOR A FIXED AMOUNT OF TIME. THE CATCH WITH THAT IS THAT YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU CAN PAY DOWN YOUR DEBT IN THAT AMOUNT THAT YOU GET THAT ZERO INTEREST RATE. YOU CAN ALSO JUST CALL THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY AND SEE IF THERE IS A WAY TO NEGOTIATE A LOWER RATE. SURE, YOU MAY NOT GET IT DOWN TO ZERO, YOU CAN GET IT DOWN SOME THOUGH. IT'S ROUGHLY 20% RIGHT NOW. YOU CAN ALSO APPLY FOR PERSONAL LOAN. YOU CAN CONSOLIDATE THE LOANS THAT YOU HAVE IF YOU HAVE MULTIPLE CREDIT CARD BILLS. TRY TO BRING IT DOWN TO ONE LOAN AND THEN HAVE IT AT A FIXED RATE OVER THE COURSE OF THE LOAN. THERE ARE A FEW THINGS YOU CAN DO BUT YOU ARE RIGHT, IT'S A LOT OF THINGS BACKED UP AGAINST THIS AGE GROUP. >> LOANS ARE USUALLY JUST ONE PAYMENT. ANY OTHER PIECE OF ADVICE? >> WE ARE COMING UP TO TAX SEASON. YOU CAN GET A GOOD TAX RATE AND PUT THAT TOWARD PAYING DOWN THOSE CREDIT CARDS. AND CAR LOANS AS WELL. THERE ARE A FEW THINGS. WE HAVE A VERY HIGH INTEREST RATE RIGHT NOW AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THAT COMBINED

Channel: CBS News

Views: 80,557

Keywords: MoneyWatch, CBS News, debt, millennials, interest rates, inflation, credit card debt, mortgage rates, economy, news

Id: 4u_qZjzvh7U

Length: 4min 0sec (240 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 27 2023