Phoenix area ranks high nationally in terms of credit-card debt
Feb 9, 2018, 4:23 AM | Updated: 5:37 am
(Flickr/Håkan Dahlström)
(Flickr/Håkan Dahlström)
PHOENIX — If you find yourself reaching for the plastic in your wallet at the register, you aren’t alone. In fact, a lot of Valley residents are probably using their credit cards more than they should.
According to a recent study from CreditCards.com, the Phoenix area has the 10th-highest credit-card debt burden in the country.
Matt Schulz, a spokesman with the website, told KTAR News 92.3 FM that it takes the average Phoenix resident 18 months and nearly $680 in interest to pay off the average debt of $6,400.
The average Phoenix resident also has about three credit cards on hand.
“Credit-card debt is rising, interest rates are rising,” he said. “That makes it a really scary mix and it makes it where that credit-card debt is only going to get more expensive.”
But Schulz said, compared to other nearby cities, Phoenix is actually in the clear.
“When you compare it to others on the list — like San Antonio, for example, would take 22 months and $911 [in] interest — Phoenix is actually looking OK.”
Schulz said card holders should do whatever they have to in order to put as big of a dent as possible in their card debt, including looking at a zero-percent balance transfer card.
KTAR News’ Jeremy Foster contributed to this report.
