Almost two in five cardholders (37%) have maxed out a credit card or come close since the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in March 2022, according to Bankrate’s new Credit Utilization Survey.
That includes 20%who have maxed out a card and another 17%who came close.
Over half of cardholders who maxed out a credit card or came close (54%) blame inflation or high prices. Other top reasons include emergency expenses (38%) and carrying a balance or having credit card debt (32%).
Of those who have maxed out their credit card or come close, 88% said it negatively impacted their personal finances in some way. This includes 41% who said their credit score declined and 31% who said they could not afford a necessary expense.
According to Bankrate, the cardholders who were most likely to have maxed out, or come close to maxing out, their credit cards include parents with children younger than 18 (45 %), generation Xers, or those between the ages of 44-59 (45 %), and Americans earning under $50,000 a year (45 %).
Just 44 %of Americans reported they would pay an unexpected $1,000 expense with cash from their savings account, according to Bankrate’s Emergency Savings Survey.
According to the report, Americans aren’t just relying on their credit cards for fun-filled purchases. Many are relying on them to make ends meet. And if their tap suddenly runs dry right when they need to make a purchase, they can be hit with major financial distress.
Ultimately in the aftermath of hot inflation and high interest rates, many Americans have been stretched so financially thin that they’ve had to borrow up to the limit on a credit card leaving them in financial and emotional distress.