Gene J. Puskar/AP By MARTIN CRUTSIN! GERWASHINGTON -- U.S. consumers increased their borrowing in August in the category that covers auto loans and student loans but cut back on their credit card borrowing.
Overall borrowing rose $13.5 billion in August following a revised $21.6 billion increase in July, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday. The gains have pushed total consumer debt to a record level of $3.25 trillion.
The category that includes auto loans and student loans increased $13.7 billion in August while the category that covers credit card debt declined by $208 million, the first drop in this area in six months.
Rising levels of consumer borrowing coupled with strong employment growth are viewed as a good sign that consumers are more confident about taking on debt to finance purchases. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.
Consumer spending rose a healthy 0.5 percent in August, adding to signs that the economy was sustaining strength in the Ju! ly-September quarter. The gains are expected to continue in th! e final three months of the year. The government reported Friday that employers added a strong 248,000 jobs in September and the number of jobs created in July and August was revised up by 69,000. The gains helped push the unemployment rate down to a six-year low of 5.9 percent last month.
The August increase in total borrowing put it 6.8 percent above a year ago. Auto and student loans are up 8.2 percent from a year ago while credit card debt has risen a smaller 3.2 percent.
The large increase in student debt has raised concerns that young Americans are being saddled with student loans that will keep them from buying homes or spending as previous generations have after college.
Student loans have soared since the recession ended, topping $1.1 trillion in the second quarter of this year. That's up from $700 billion in 2009.
The New York Federal Reserve reported that demand for auto loans reached the highest level in eight years this spring with more ! people with checkered credit histories obtaining the loans. That has raised worries about the potential for defaults down the road.
The Federal Reserve's monthly credit report does not cover mortgages or any other loans that are backed by real estate.
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Yes they can.The CARD Act did get rid of the most outrageous abuse: they can no longer increase the interest rate on existing balances unless you go 60 days past due.
However, you need to remember that:
- Most credit card interest rates are variable and are linked to the prime rate. Your high rate will only go higher when interest rates increase.
- Based upon risk, your credit card company can still increase your interest rate on all future purchases. Your existing balances are protected, but future purchases would be at the higher rate. And determining risk is not limited to your behavior on your existing card. If you miss a payment with another lender, that could lead to an increase on all of your credit cards.
- After 12 months, they can increase your rate for almost any reason. But the increased rate only applies to future purchases, and they need to give you 45 days notice.
Credit cards are incredibly expensive ways to borrow money. If you use a card, your goal should be to pay off the balance in full every month. Then, the interest rate doesn't matter.
Bottom line: If you do have debt, you should never be paying the purchase APR. Look for a balance transfer, or get a personal loan to cut your interest rate. And take a long hard look at your spending to put more money towards paying off that debt.
1. My credit card company cannot raise my interest rate -
No, they are not.
There is a big difference between a 0% balance transfer (where the interest is waived during the promotional period, discussed above) and 0% purchase financing offered at many stores (where the interest is only deferred).
I regularly encourage people to use balance transfers to help them pay off their debt faster. With a balance transfer, interest is switched off or reduced during the promotional period. Once the promotional period is over, interest starts to accrue on a go-forward basis. This can take years off your debt repayment.
But stores offer 0 percent financing at the checkout. With a lot of these programs, interest is charged from the purchase date if you do not pay off the balance in full during the promotional period. So, if you have a 12-month 0 percent offer -– and do not pay off the balance in 12 months -– then in month 13 you will be charged a full 13 months of interest. They r! etroactively charge interest, and it will be like you never had a 0 percent offer at all.
This is a common practice. Online, Apple (AAPL) does this, via their partnership with Barclaycard (BCS).
And stores like Walmart (WMT) do the same thing.
Bottom line: I don't like deferred interest deals. Most people do not understand the difference between waived and deferred interest, and this practice feels deceptive. If you take one of these offers, make sure you pay off the balance in full before the promotion expires.
2. All 0% offers are the same -
Not always.Credit card companies have different rates for different types of transactions. The interest rate charged on a purchase (high) is different from a balance transfer APR (low).
Before the CARD Act, banks would apply your payment to the lowest APR balance first. Imagine you have a $1,000 balance. $500 is at 0 percent (balance transfer), and the other $500 is at 18 percent (purchase). If you make a $100 payment, banks would apply that to the balance transfer. That way, they reduce the balance transfer (at 0 percent) to $400, while protecting the $500 purchase balance (at 18 percent).
The CARD Act changed that. Banks now need to apply payments to the highest interest rate first. But this only applies to payments higher than the minimum due.
If you only pay the minimum due every month, your payment will still likely be applied to the lowest interest rate balance first.
Bottom l! ine: You should never spend and have a balance transfer on the same credit card. Banks can only "trap" balances when you have multiple balance types on one card.
3. My credit card payment always goes to the highest interest rate first -
Not exactly true.The CARD Act has stopped the handout of T-shirts on the steps of the school libraries, but they can still give sign-on bonuses. And they advertise on campus. For example, Citibank (C) has a "Thank You Preferred" card for college students. If you spend $500 in the first three months, you get 2,500 thank you points as a bonus. That is $25 of value.
Bottom line: I actually find this worse. Before, you got a free T-shirt just for signing up. Now, the credit card companies encourage spend on the card for the "free gift."
4. College students can't get freebies to sign up for credit cards -
In the past, banks would charge you a fee if you went over your credit limit. Today, the CARD Act requires banks to receive your consent to charge an over-limit fee. So, in most cases, banks just eliminated those fees -- which is good news (kind of).
You can still go over your credit limit, if the bank approves your transaction. But the full amount by which you've exceeded your limit will be part of your minimum payment come the next bill, which could cause a payment shock.
More importantly, utilization (the percentage of your available credit that you use) is a big factor in your credit score. Your credit score determines the price you pay for credit. So, if you're over-limit on an account, you are considered riskier. That can result in the credit card company increasing your interest rate. And it could also result in other lenders increasing your rates with them. So you do pay, but it's an indirect cost.
Bottom ! line: We're glad the fee is gone, but you still need to be diligent and try to avoid going over your limit. If you pay your balance in full every month but are frequently bumping up against your credit limit, ask for a credit line increase.
5. It no longer costs me to go over the limit on my credit card -
Completely false.I have heard from so many people that the way to eliminate overdraft fees is to opt out of overdraft protection. But it is impossible to completely opt out of overdraft.
Federal regulation requires consumers to opt into overdraft protection only for debit and ATM transactions.
But, the regulation does not cover checks and electronic transactions (including bill-pay and monthly direct debits, like gym memberships). The banks have all the power. If they approve the transaction, you would be charged an overdraft fee (typically $35 per transaction at banks and $25 at credit unions). If they decline the transaction, then you would be charged an NSF fee (non-sufficient funds), which is usually just as expensive as the overdraft fee.
Bottom line: You can't opt out of all overdraft fees. To avoid them, keep a buffer or find an account, like Ally, that doesn't charge th! ose junk fees.
6. I opted out of overdraft protection for checking to avoid those fees -
Not always true.To be protected, you need to report the fraudulent transaction within 60 days. Otherwise, you give up a lot of your rights.
On ATM/debit cards, the bank can make you responsible for up to $500 of fraud if you report more than two days (but less than 60 days) after the transaction. On a credit card, you would never be liable for more than $50 (and most banks won't even hold you accountable for $50.)
One area where you will almost always lose is when your Personal Identification Number is used. If someone manages to get your PIN and takes money out of your account, then the bank will almost always assume that you authorized the transaction. Make sure you change your PIN often and never write it down.
Bottom line: Avoiding liability it your responsibility. Track your transactions regularly and call as soon as you detect any suspicious activity. And make sure you neve! r share your PIN with anyone, or make it obvious.
7. If there is fraud on my debit or credit card, I am always protected - More from DailyFinance:
Source : http://www.dailyfinance.com/2014/10/07/consumer-borrowing-rose-13-billion-august/
