Outstanding credit-card debt has increased by 177% since 1992, for households with annual incomes of $75,000 or more. Affluent households have also taken on more auto loans and home equity loans during the same period. The data comes from a study by the Consumer Financial Decisions group of SRI Consulting Business Intelligence which shows that the incidence among wealthy households of having a first mortgage has remained static from 1992 through 2000. However, the incidences of the next three most common types of debt--credit cards (34% to 58%), vehicle loans (33% to 51%), and secondary debt on the primary home (29% to 36%)--have all increased significantly. The lion's share of this debt is the mortgage on the primary home, which has grown by 37% from an average of $61,590 to $84,143 for all affluent households. And although the mean amount that the affluent owe in secondary debt (second mortgages and home equity lines of credit) on the primary home has gone up only 14%, vehicle loans have increased by 133% (from $3,910 to $9,097), and credit-card outstanding debt has increased by 177% (from $1,240 to $3,437).
Outstanding credit-card debt has increased by 177% since 1992, for households with annual incomes of $75,000 or more. Affluent households have also taken on more auto loans and home equity loans during the same period. The data comes from a study by the Consumer Financial Decisions group of SRI Consulting Business Intelligence which shows that the incidence among wealthy households of having a first mortgage has remained static from 1992 through 2000. However, the incidences of the next three most common types of debt--credit cards (34% to 58%), vehicle loans (33% to 51%), and secondary debt on the primary home (29% to 36%)--have all increased significantly. The lion's share of this debt is the mortgage on the primary home, which has grown by 37% from an average of $61,590 to $84,143 for all affluent households. And although the mean amount that the affluent owe in secondary debt (second mortgages and home equity lines of credit) on the primary home has gone up only 14%, vehicle loans have increased by 133% (from $3,910 to $9,097), and credit-card outstanding debt has increased by 177% (from $1,240 to $3,437).