AP/Ipsos Poll: Half Of Americans Worry About Debt

Washington, DC -- This holiday season, most Americans say they are careful about how they use their credit cards. However, four in ten admit that they are concerned by the total amount of debt they carry, and half say they worry frequently about their indebtedness, according to recent polling conducted for The Associated Press by Ipsos-Public Affairs. Half Of Americans Worry About Their Debt Half of U.S. adults worry regularly about the total amount of money they owe. Three in ten (30%) worry "some of the time," and another two in ten worry "most" (12%) or "all of the time" (8%). Just over four in ten are not concerned, and worry hardly ever (23%) or "not at all" (21%). Women under 45 (64%), married women (58%) and minorities (58%) are most stressed about their personal debt. Four In Ten Say Debt Causes Stress The level of debt carried by households is at least "somewhat stressful" to four in ten (42%) adults in the U.S. Half (52%) say it causes them "not very much" or "no stress at all." One In Four Foresee Problems In Paying Off Current Debt Three in ten say their current debts may cause them problems in the next five years, although more estimate it as a "medium" (21%) than a "large" (7%) or "extreme" (3%) problem. About six in ten say their total debt will be either "a small problem" (25%) or "no problem at all" (38%). One in four (25%) are at least somewhat concerned that they will never be able to pay off their debts; one in ten are "quite" or "very concerned." Seven in ten (69%) are not very concerned or not concerned at all. Women under 45 (34%), people with up to a high school education (34%), non-whites (42%), and those with incomes under $25,000 per year (40%) are more likely than others to be at least somewhat concerned that they won't be able to pay off all their debts. One In Ten Credit Cardholders Have Maxed Out, Not Made Minimum Payment Nearly three-quarters (73%) of adults say they have at least one credit card; a quarter (26%) don't have any. Overall, a majority (58%) report that they have fewer than five credit cards. A small share (15%) say they have five or more credit cards. One in ten credit card holders say they have reached their credit limit; most (88%) card holders have not. Nearly a quarter (23%) of credit card holders under age 30 say they have reached their limit on at least one card. Women (14%) are more likely than men (7%) to be at their limit. Overall, one in ten say they did not pay the minimum amount due at least once in the past six months. Nine in ten (89%) credit card holders report they have paid at least the minimum due each month. Again, cardholders under age 30 are more likely than others to have missed at least one minimum payment (19% vs. 10% overall). A quarter of credit card users say they use their card to make purchases when they don't have the money. One in six (16%) don't trust themselves to manage their credit card debt, especially people under 30 (29%) and low-income earners (26%). Credit Card Holders Say More Holiday Spending Will Be In Cash Than On Plastic Of credit card holders, six in ten say that most of their holiday spending will be paid for in cash (60%) rather than with credit cards (39%). Among those who will be charging their holiday expenses, most (27%) say they will pay off the changes with the next bill. Only about one in ten (12%) cardholders foresee carrying a balance from holiday spending over to the next month. Most Say They Try To Use Credit Cards Responsibly Over half (57%) of credit card holders say they used their card last month, four in ten (43%) did not. People who made a charge were twice as likely to say they will pay off the bill in full (38%) than to carry a balance over to next month (19%). One in four credit cardholders report that they have no outstanding balances on their cards, and another 15% owe less than $500. Others owe more substantial balances: a quarter owe more than $500 but less than $3,000, and as many owe more than $3,000 in total. Married men (31%) and seniors (32%) are more likely than others to have no balances on their cards. Unmarried women are more likely than others to carry balances in the moderate range (27% up to $500, 31% in the $500-$2,999 range). Moreover, people who describe their current financial situation as strong are particularly likely to have zero balances (33%, vs. 17% of those in a weak financial situation). Cards More Popular As Means Of Payment Than Of Financing The majority of credit card holders appear to regard their cards as a convenient means of payment rather than a way of financing purchases. More than three in four (78%) credit card holders state that they only put purchases on their card if they can pay the bill when it arrives. Two-thirds (66%) say they use credit cards because they are more convenient than cash. And for at least half (55%) of credit cardholders, credit cards aren't a means to pay for emergency expenses only. Methodology The Associated Press Poll is conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs. Between December 6-8, 2004, the AP-Ipsos poll interviewed a representative sample of 1,000 adults nationwide, including 790 credit cardholders. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 for all adults and +/- 3.5 for credit cardholders. Margin of error for subgroups may be higher.

For more information on this press release, please contact: Janice Bell Director, Ipsos Public Affairs Washington, D.C. 202.463.7300

About Ipsos Public Affairs Ipsos Public Affairs, headquartered in Washington D.C., is a non-partisan, objective, survey-based research company made up of campaign and political polling veterans as well as seasoned research professionals. The company conducts strategic research initiatives for a diverse number of American and international organizations, based not only on public opinion research but often elite stakeholder, corporate, and media opinion research. It has offices in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, with affiliates around the world. Ipsos Public Affairs conducts national and international public opinion polling on behalf of The Associated Press, the world's oldest and largest news organization, and conducts the young voters poll for Newsweek.com. Ipsos Public Affairs is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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