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American credit card debt passes $1 trillion

Published August 10, 2023 at 8:20 AM EDT
FILE - Consumer credit cards are posed in North Andover, Mass., March 5, 2012. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering a new rule that would slash credit card late fees by 75%, from current highs of up to $41 to as low as $8. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
FILE - Consumer credit cards are posed in North Andover, Mass., March 5, 2012. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering a new rule that would slash credit card late fees by 75%, from current highs of up to $41 to as low as $8. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

American credit card debt passed $1 trillion this week, having broken the previous record for national credit card debt a few months ago. To put that in perspective, $1 trillion in bills end to end would stretch past the sun from Earth.

It’s another milestone that appears alarming on the surface — but what is the story behind that debt?

We find out from Washington Post personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary as well as getting advice on how to handle debt.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.