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Nearly Half of Americans Planning to Cut Their Use of Debt ISLANDIA, New York, Aug. 8, 2002 Almost half of all Americans (43%) are less willing to incur more credit card debt because of heavy losses in the value of their stock portfolios, while 57% claim not to be affected by recent market declines, according to the results of a nationwide survey by the Cambridge Consumer Credit Index. The highest-income Americans, earning over $75,000 a year in income, have been even more affected by plunging stock prices, with 47% saying they will cut back on their use of credit. These findings are the result of monthly nationwide telephone poll of 1000+ adults conducted by ICR/International Communications Research in the past week, sponsored by The Debt Relief Clearinghouse.
"Economists continue to ask if the consumer is going to stop spending because of the declines in the stock market. Now we have the answer: nearly half of Americans do plan to sharply reduce their use of credit because they have suffered such enormous losses in their portfolios in recent months. This cutback in credit use will be even more pronounced among higher-income consumers who are the main drivers of the consumer economy because their portfolios have suffered the most," says Jordan Goodman, spokesperson for the Index.
In the month of August, the Index dropped by 7 points from July levels, meaning that more Americans are reducing and are planning to reduce their debt burdens. This plunge -- the largest on record since the Index was launched in December 2001 -- reverses a 12 point surge in June and July.
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