Virginia residents had an average of $7,161 in credit card debt in 2017. This was according to a report from Experian that looked at how Americans used their credit cards. The national average was $6,354 person, and Alaska had the highest average balance at $8,515. While many people use credit cards to obtain perks and rewards, some believe that it isn’t worth doing so. This is because some people keep a balance on their cards each month.
The report found that 43 percent of Americans did this, and it cost about $1,000 per month on average to pay the interest on those balances. Those who study this matter say that it is a good idea to keep debt to a minimum to avoid paying interest charges. Furthermore, having too high of a credit utilization rate could negatively impact a person’s credit score. The credit utilization rates compares how much credit a person has versus how much has been used.
Ideally, a person will not use more than 30 percent of an existing credit limit. Overall, Americans carry more than $1 trillion in revolving debt. The report found that the average person carries 3.1 credit cards and 2.5 retail cards. New Jersey residents had the highest number of cards per person while Mississippi had the lowest number of cards per person.
Filing for bankruptcy may make it possible to obtain relief from overwhelming debt. Credit card balances may be reduced or eliminated in a Chapter 13 filing, and debtors may also be able to keep their property while the case is ongoing. An attorney may be able to tell a debtor more about the benefits of filing such as a stay from creditor contact. Creditors could also be banned from other activities such as filing a lawsuit.