Owe gosh! Card debt hits record

U.S. CREDIT CARD debt hit an all-time high in November, a circumstance the federal government attributed to a strong market.

The $1.023 trillion in revolving credit as of November is slightly higher than the previous benchmark set right before the Great Recession in 2008.

Revolving debt, which is mostly carried by credit cards, bumped up $11.2 billion between October and November, the Federal Reserve said. Debt such as student and car loans — otherwise known as nonrevolving credit — also ticked up $16.7 billion during the one-month period, to $2.804 trillion, according the Fed data.

All told, Americans had $3.83 trillion in outstanding debt as of November, the Fed numbers show. Some debt was incurred by people using their credit cards to get by, but the majority was a sign of confidence, analysts said.

“It was a really big increase,” Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst for Austin-based Creditcards.com, told the Daily News. “And it shows people clearly weren’t shy about using their credit cards during the holidays.”

Analysts saw the hike in revolving debt as a sign the economy is doing well, something President Trump has taken credit for. But Schulz cautioned consumers should try paying down their credit card debt in 2018.

The Fed, led by outgoing chairwoman Janet Yellen, plans to raise interest rates this year — which would make it costlier to pay down debt.