5 Cities with the Most Credit Card Debt

5 Cities with the Most Credit Card Debt

By Suelain Moy

Why is the Lone Star State racking up so much debt? Its two largest cities—Dallas and Houston/Fort Worth make the list of the cities with the most credit card debt, and San Antonio comes in as No. 1.

The new study from CreditCards.com used credit report data from Experian to compare the average credit card debt in the 25 largest U.S. metro areas with each area’s median income. It assumed that 15 percent of a person's monthly income would be spent on paying down credit card debt.

The analysis claims it would take San Antonio residents with median incomes of $27,491 a full 16 months to pay off an average of $4,880, making monthly payments of $344 a month. By comparison, a resident of San Francisco making $42,613 a year would pay off $4,393 in credit card debt with nine monthly payments of $533 per month.

The cities with the highest credit card debt burdens were:

  1. San Antonio
  2. Dallas/Fort Worth
  3. Atlanta
  4. Miami/Fort Lauderdale
  5. Houston

Related: 5 Reasons to Pay Off Your Credit Card Debt Now

The metro areas with the highest debt don’t necessarily have the highest debt burdens when adjusted for income. For example, Washington, D.C. has the nation’s highest average credit card debt at $5,046, but since it also has the highest median income in the nation, its debt burden is lower. By applying 15 percent of their paychecks, residents can pay off that debt in 10 months.

The cities with the lowest credit card debt burdens were:

  1. New York City
  2. Minneapolis/St. Paul
  3. Washington, D.C.
  4. Boston
  5. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose

Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com, points out that there isn’t much difference between the city with the highest credit card debt, Washington, D.C. ($5,046), and the city with the lowest credit card debt, the Riverside-San Bernardino area ($4,137), but there is a big difference in income. A higher income means that debts can be paid off more quickly. “It really is all about earnings,” Schulz says. “People are using their credit cards whether they live in the biggest city in the country or they live in the 25th biggest city in the country.”

While most folks won’t be able to increase their income that dramatically, there are still steps they can take to make sure they’re tackling their credit card debt in the most effective way possible.

Related: How to Defuse Exploding Consumer Credit Debt

His advice to consumers? “Absolutely, positively pay more than the minimum on your credit card balance every month.” And the next best thing? “If you can’t pay the full balance, then you have to pay off more than the minimum.”

Schulz also recommends calling the credit card issuer and asking if you can get better terms. “It’s certainly worth a call,” says Schulz. “We did a study last year that showed that 65 percent of people who asked for a lower interest rate got a lower APR.” The same study said that 86 percent of people who asked for a waiver of a late payment fee were successful in getting the charge removed.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:

DOJ Indicts Democratic Lawmaker for Corruption

By Martin Matishak

Martin Matishak, The Fiscal Times

The Justice Department has indicted Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA) on almost 30 federal counts of political corruption.

The 11-term congressman and four associates were indicted on 29 federal charges, including bribery, money laundering, falsification of records, and multiple counts of bank and mail fraud, the department announced Wednesday.

Related: Billions in Unfinished Business as Congress Heads Out for Vacation

The charges against Fattah and his associates stem from his failed run for Philadelphia mayor in 2007.

Fattah and the others "embarked on a wide-ranging conspiracy involving bribery, concealment of unlawful campaign contributions and theft of charitable and federal funds to advance their own personal interests,” according to Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell.

Justice alleges that Fattah borrowed $1 million from a wealthy donor during his mayoral bid and that he returned $400,000 in unused funds and developed a scheme to repay the remaining $600,000 by tapping charitable and federal grants through a local non-profit the Pennsylvania lawmaker created.

Federal officials also allege that the Fattah sough to repay supporters by offering federal grants and used funds from both his mayoral and congressional campaigns to pay down his son's student loan debts of around $23,000.

"Public corruption takes a particularly heavy toll on our democracy because it undermines people’s basic belief that our elected leaders are committed to serving the public interest, not to lining their own pockets,” she said in a statement.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that Fattah has stepped down as the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies subcommittee.

Here’s Why Americans Are Keeping Their Cars Longer than Ever

iStockPhoto
By Beth Braverman

As cars get more reliable Americans are holding onto their vehicles for longer than ever before. The average age of cars and light trucks is now 11.5 years old, according to a new report from IHS Automotive.

In addition to better reliability, cars are getting older because Americans bought far fewer new cars in the years following the Great Recession, as concerns lingered about unemployment and the strength of the economy.

Even as consumers have started purchasing new vehicles again, they’re still holding onto their older ones. The average length of ownership of a new vehicle reached 6.5 years in the first quarter of 2015, more than two years longer than in 2006. The number of cars more than 12 years old continues to grow and is expected to increase 15 percent by 2020.

Related: The Incredible Disappearing American-Made Car

IHS predicts that the average age of vehicles will inch up slightly over the next few years, hitting 11.7 years in 2018.

The number of cars on the road hit a record 258 million, posting a 2.1 percent increase over last year, driven by the purchase of new cars. IHS expects that volume of cars less than 5 years old will increase by 24 percent over the next five years.

Consumer sales of autos were on pace to rise 4.2 percent this month, according to TrueCar, compared to July of 2014, thanks to increased demand, summer sales events and the growing popularity of premium brands.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:

The Most Expensive Cities for Singles -- and the Cheapest

San Francisco, CA
Wikimedia Commons
By Suelain Moy

Looking for love in all the pricey places? Check out these lists of the most and least expensive cities for singles before you go on that next date or plan your next move. Looking good doesn’t come cheap, and the price of a decent wardrobe and a gym membership add ups before you even step out the door.

To determine which cities were the least and most affordable for singles, GoBankingRates examined 89 cities and rated them according to four expense categories -- clothing, dates, gym memberships and rent -- using data from Numbeo.com. “Singles are more likely to exercise, and to have a gym membership,” says Elyssa Kirkham, a finance writer for GoBankingRates. “They’re more likely to rent than own a home, and spend more money on dates and clothing.”

Related: Hot New Dating Criteria: What’s Your Credit Score?

San Francisco is the most expensive city for singles, especially when it comes to rent. Rent is 30 percent more expensive in San Francisco than it is in Honolulu. The cost of a date here is $147, compared with the median cost of $109. California just might be the most expensive state to date in, claiming seven of the top 15 spots: San Francisco, Fremont, Glendale, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego and Oakland.

The second most expensive city? New York City, which boasts the most expensive gym membership at $90 per month. Clothing costs here are the second-highest in the nation -- bad news for all the Carrie Bradshaws out there. And date night will set you back $145.

The most expensive date night in the country is in Washington, D.C., which came in third overall. Date night in our nation’s capital costs $166 for dinner, a bottle of wine, two movie tickets and a 10-mile taxi ride. Compare that to Chattanooga, Tennessee, which had the cheapest date night at $78.

Looking for more bang for your buck? Move to Reno, Nevada. Rent here is just 86 cents per square foot, and a night out averages $97.30. Keep in mind, though, that “the Biggest Little City in the World” was once known as the divorce capital of the world, so dating there may offer less promise than other locales.

Related: The Bad News About All the Singles in America

Most Expensive Cities for Singles

  1. San Francisco
  2. New York
  3. Washington, D.C.
  4. Honolulu
  5. Boston
  6. Fremont, California
  7. Glendale, California
  8. Anchorage, Alaska
  9. Miami
  10. Seattle
  11. Irvine, California
  12. Los Angeles
  13. San Diego
  14. Oakland, California
  15. Madison, Wisconsin

Related: Marriage?? Young Americans Aren’t Even Shacking Up

15 Cheapest Cities for Singles

  1. Reno, Nevada
  2. Tucson, Arizona
  3. Grand Rapids, Michigan
  4. Tacoma, Washington
  5. Indianapolis
  6. Mesa, Arizona
  7. Little Rock, Arkansas
  8. Albuquerque, New Mexico
  9. Huntsville, Alabama
  10. Memphis, Tennessee
  11. St. Louis, Missouri
  12. Jackson, Mississippi
  13. Stockton, California
  14. Omaha, Nebraska
  15. Chattanooga, Tennessee

Donald Trump Isn’t as Rich as He Says…but He’s Still Pretty Rich

Republican presidential candidate Trump gestures after speaking and taking questions at a rally in Manchester
REUTERS/Dominick Reuter
By Millie Dent

“I’m really rich,” Donald Trump boasted last month when he announced he was running for president. A new analysis by Bloomberg confirms that claim, but finds that the real estate mogul and presidential candidate is worth about $7 billion less than he claims.

When he announced his presidential bid, Trump touted a net worth of about $8.7 billion, a figure that soon ballooned to $10 billion. But Bloomberg calculates his wealth closer to around $2.9 billion. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s biggest fortunes, arrived at the value using both prior-known information and a 92-page personal disclosure form that Trump filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Related: 7 Revelations from Donald Trump’s Financial Disclosure​

The federal form that all presidential candidates are required to submit asks only for broad ranges in asset values, not specific sums. Anything above $50 million in value is lumped together in one category, which in Trump’s case left plenty of room for questions about just how valuable some of his assets are. The federal report also doesn’t require candidates to list personal property like art, clothing or real estate that’s for his own use.

The Bloomberg analysis went into much more depth, using figures such as purchase dates, square footage, rental rates and more.

The disclosure form revealed that most of Trump’s fortune comes from real estate holdings, such as the Trump Doral resorts in Florida and Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Other lucrative properties include premier golf courses in the U.S., Ireland and Scotland.

Related: Donald Trump Just Showed Why His Campaign Is Doomed​​

Trump had valued his golf and resort properties at $2 billion. Bloomberg, using price-to-sales ratios for similar properties, put the value at a combined $570 million.

The Bloomberg methodology also doesn’t put much value in the Trump brand, counting only the cash being held as part of licensing or other business deals. “Trump’s own estimations,” Bloomberg noted, “include much higher values for his brand.”

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:

In a Black Eye for Wearable Tech, Nike Giving Refunds for FuelBand

REUTERS/Mike Segar
By Beth Braverman

If you thought that the calorie count and steps tracked by your Nike FuelBand were inaccurate, you may have been right.

Nike and Apple have agreed to settle a class action lawsuit claiming that the companies made misleading statements regarding the product’s ability to accurately track calories and steps, according to a website maintained by settlement administrator Gilardi & Co.

The companies have denied the allegations and claim they broke no laws, but they have agreed to a settlement in which Nike will give consumers who join the class action suit by January $15 or a $25 Nike gift card. The total cost of the refunds could reach more than $2 million.

Related: Why No One is Actually Buying Wearable Tech

Anyone who purchased a FuelBand from January 19, 2012 through June 17, 2015 is eligible for the refund.

Last year, Nike began shifting its focus away from producing FuelBands, choosing instead to focus on apps, including one for the Apple watch, that support fitness tracking. The company has said it has more than 60 million digital fitness software users.

The FuelBand was an early entrant into what has become a crowded field or wearable fitness trackers, despite questions about their accuracy. However smart watches, which offer built-in fitness trackers along with other apps, may soon eclipse the demand for that standalone products.

A report released last year by tech analysts Juniper Research projected that revenue from wearable tech, would increase from $4.5 billion in 2014 to more than $53 billion in 2019.