Just this week the Credit Letter Blog was invited to interview Choice Magazine’s Media Spokesman Christopher Zinn and report author Uta Mihm to coincide with their timely new Debt Relief Report which covers ways in which you beat the financial crisis and come out the other side financially on your feet.
Question: Extreme cases of consumers carrying up to $400,000 in credit card debt are extreme and hopefully very rare. Are there certain age groups, people groups who are more likely to develop major debt problems?
According to the latest government statistics: 19% of bankrupts were between the ages of 15 and 29, 27% were between the ages of 30 and 39 and 53% were over 40.44% of bankrupts were not employed at the date of bankruptcy (includes unemployed, pensioners, self-funded retirees and those engaged in unpaid domestic duties).
In the 12 month period immediately prior to bankruptcy, 4% of all bankrupts declared no income, 11% had an income of less than $10,000, 47% had an income between $10,000 and $29,999, 25% had an income between $30,000 and $49,999, 9% had an income between $50,000 and $69,999, and 4% had an income of $70,000 or higher.
