Personal Debt Overview

First of all, not all debt is calculated equally. 

There is standard credit card debt, and then student debt, auto loans and home mortgages. They aren’t viewed the same way by the credit agencies.

A recent article reported that the average amount carried on a credit card in America was $6,194.

Still, the category that reported the highest gross amount was in mortgages. Even though they accounted for the largest average balance, the potential for accumulating equity through market appreciation is significant. When individuals purchase a home using a mortgage, it represents a form of “good debt” as opposed to borrowing to purchase something you cannot afford at that time.

In addition, mortgages are usually very low interest, as compared to credit card debt. In most cases, the interest is tax-deductible, which offers a bit more of an incentive to make the jump from renting to owning.

Other than mortgages, student debt is considered a better form of debt than credit, auto or even retail debt, because education usually translates into making the student more valuable to employers.

Anecdotally, other forms of debt, such as credit cards and retail cards, usually call for much higher interest rates, going up to 30%. Consumer credit cards are also harder to pay back because of the exorbitant interest rates they carry.

According to a recent report from Experian, here’s how much the average balance was on different types of consumer debts among those who owe:

$6,194 on credit cards
$1,155 on retail cards
$203,296 for mortgages
$19,231 on auto loans
$16,259 for personal loans