Is U.S. household debt load going down?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 69 percent of American households carry some form of debt. Luckily, this is a lower number of households that are burdened with debt compared to ten years ago which was 75 percent of U.S. households. Major causes of debt include unexpected medical expenses, credit card debt and student loans. The average mortgage debt of a U.S. household is $150,000 according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the average household credit card debt is around $15,000. Many believe that student loan balances of U.S. households are increasing at an alarming rate and according to the U.S. Census Bureau the average student loan balance is about $33,000.

Making a monthly budget and sticking to it is one of many ways to get control of your debt. This will help you to cut out some expenses that are not essential and to use savings from those expenses to pay down credit card debt starting with the card with the highest interest rate. Try and renegotiate the interest rate. If you fail to get an interest rate reduction in your first attempt, try again in few months. In the meantime stop charging onto your credit cards. Stick to your monthly budget and avoid impulse purchases.