How do you feel about the amount of debt you have compared to 12 months ago?
- The proportion of people less comfortable with their debt surged 5 percentage points from June.
- The proportion more comfortable with their debt sank 3 percentage points.
- At 32 percent, respondents under age 30 were most likely to feel less comfortable with their debt, while respondents ages 30 to 49 were most likely to feel more comfortable, at 28 percent.
This is really reflective of our economy.
Carrie Coghill
Director of consumer education, FreeScore.com, credit information services
These results show an overall negative viewpoint by consumers because 75 percent feel the same or worse about their debt. We have had a significant amount of unemployment, a housing crisis and a financial crisis — and we are still recovering from all of it. The people struggling with unemployment and who are aware of their persistent mountain of debt probably feel "less comfortable" than they did a year ago. The majority of people who feel "about the same" reflect the general stagnation in our economy. Meaning, people aren't getting raises and are just happy to have a job. The 23 percent who feel "more comfortable" have probably paid down some of their debt in the past year. The consumer credit numbers show that Americans have paid down their debts significantly. Yet, a lot of people are still not feeling "comfortable" with their debt status.
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