Understanding Credit Card Debt

When talking about credit card debt, the effects of debt depend upon such factors as the sources of loan funds, the purpose for which borrowing is done, the terms and conditions under which the debt is floated, the volume of the existing debt, the interest rates, the types of loan employed and the general economic condition of the community.

Credit card debt can get out of hand if it is not promptly attended to. Most people advocate the case of credit cards, quoting the benefits and convenience that arises from them. However, there is another group that strongly opposes credit cards. The reason for the opposition is ‘Excessive Credit Card Debt', which is one of the most serious problems faced by the credit card holders and credit card industry. However, you can't pull the shutters on the credit card industry just because of some irresponsible people. That is not a solution for beating excessive credit card debt. Moreover, you can't overlook the benefits associated with the credit cards.

Credit cards are no more a luxury, they are almost a necessity. So, you would imagine a lot of people going for credit cards. In fact, a lot of people possess more than one credit card. The credit card industry is a rapidly growing industry that owes its boom to the advent of the internet and increase in online shopping in recent years. However, the credit card industry and credit card holders are posed with a big problem called ‘Credit Card Debt'. In order to understand what ‘credit card debt' actually means, we need to understand the workflow associated with the use of credit cards as such.

What are credit cards?
Credit cards are cards on which you can get credit i.e. make borrowings (your credit card debt). Your credit card is a representative of the credit account that you hold with the credit card supplier. Whatever payments you make using your credit card are actually your borrowings that contribute towards your credit card debt. Your total credit card debt is the total amount you owe credit card supplier. You must settle your credit card debt on a monthly basis. So, you receive a monthly statement or your credit card bill which shows your total credit card debt. You must pay off your credit card debt by the payment due date failing which you will incur late fee and interest charges. However, you have the option of making a partial (minimum) payment too, in which case you don't incur late fee but just the interest charges on your credit card debt. If you don't pay off your credit card debt in full, the interest charges too get added to it. So your credit card debt keeps on increasing, more so because the interest rates on credit card debt are generally higher than the interest rates on other kind of loans/borrowings.

The individual may borrow from individual investors, financial institutions and commercial banks. The effects of domestic borrowing are quite different from those of foreign borrowing. In internal borrowing, there is no increase in the total quantity of resources available for the use. Rather, it is a method to enable the individual to command more domestic resources. Borrowing from financial institutions is simply a transfer of resources from private to government use. Individuals purchase government securities by diverting their current or previously accumulated savings, after reducing their cash balances. So the above transfer of resources from individuals or institutions does not create any expansionary effects on the economy.

The effects of debt also depend on the purpose for which the debt is created. If the borrowed funds are used for wasteful expenditures which will not create any assets, then borrowing is indefensible. Further, the interest rates have a bearing on the cost of borrowing and consequently upon the banking system and economic conditions in general. The higher the interest rate for borrowing funds, the stronger the pull on funds from competing investments.

A serious diversion of funds from marginal enterprises would tend to cause the latter's failure and this, in turn, would affect production and other economic processes, like market prices and interest rates. If the financial institutions get tax exemptions for their loans, this will tend to encourage the purchase of their securities.

Further, the interest charges add on to your credit card debt each month to form the new balance or the new credit card debt amount. If you continue making partial payments (or no payments) the interest charges are calculated afresh on the new credit card debt. So you end up paying interest on the last month's interest too. Thus, your credit card debt accumulates rapidly and soon you discover that what was once a relatively small credit card debt has grown into a big amount which you find almost impossible to pay. Moreover, if you don't still control your spending habits, your credit card debt rises even faster. This is how the vicious circle of credit card debt works.