Debt Addiction
March 24, 2008
It should come as no surprise that many Americans are simply addicted to being in debt. The national level of debt is higher now than ever before. But not all of this is due to careless spending.
In a recent study and survey conducted by BIG Research revealed that many Americans simply feel as if they have no choice but to go into debt and to increase their level of debt as the economy struggles.
Many consumers are now living one paycheck away from financial trouble, and just as many are reporting that it is now impossible to put money into savings.
Phil Rist, VP of strategy for BIG Research, said of consumers: “They wish they could save more. It’s something they want do, but you need to have money to save money.”
Of those taking the survey, almost 80 percent said that they believe that Americans, as a whole, were too far in debt. For those respondents who earn over $50,000, 46 percent said that their personal debt level was too high. Of those who earn more than $75,000 34 percent admitted to being too far in debt.
Of those in the lower income bracket mentioned above, nearly 60 percent said that they were living payday to payday. For those in the higher income level, over 50 percent wished that they had more money to save at the end of the month. And nearly one-third of those in the higher level admitted that they, too, often live payday to payday.