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Inflation may be cooling, but households are still feeling squeezed.
After its last policy meeting of the year, the Federal Reserve said inflation has “eased over the past year” while maintaining that prices are “elevated.”
However, the number of households stretched thin has barely budged. As of November, 62% of adults said they are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a recent LendingClub report, unchanged from a year ago.
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Holiday spending is expected to reach new record
This year, holiday spending from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 is expected to increase between 3% and 4% over last year to a record total of $957.3 billion to $966.6 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.
Even as credit card debt tops $1 trillion, almost all — or 96% — of shoppers said they expect to overspend this season, a separate TD Bank survey found.
Half of consumers plan to take on more debt to cover those holiday expenses, according to another report by Ally Bank. Only 23% have a plan to pay it off within one to two months.
“Not only is sticking to a budget harder today,” said Sarah Foster, a Bankrate analyst, ”but it’s all the more imperative, too.”
“Credit card financing rates have hovered at the highest levels ever recorded since last fall, meaning carrying a balance could cost a heavy price,” she said.
Credit card debt causes financial distress
Because of the high interest rate, revolving debt can be a particularly hard cycle to break.
“Credit cards can be an important financing option that credit-savvy consumers use to better manage their cash flows, though it’s concerning that many consumers revolved their credit card balances regardless of financial lifestyle,” said Alia Dudum, LendingClub’s money expert.
“Credit cards keep many in debt,” Dudum said.
Cardholders who carry a balance are also more likely to feel financial distress, LendingClub found.
Some 74% of Americans say they are stressed about finances, according to a separate CNBC Your Money Financial Confidence Survey conducted in August. Inflation, rising interest rates and a lack of savings contributed to those feelings.
That CNBC survey found that 61% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, up from 58% in March.