
Credello: Why Baby Boomers Have Worse Credit Card Debt Right Now
Mar 29
NEW YORK - March 29, 2023 - ( Newswire.com )
Credello: The Baby Boomer generation includes individuals who were born between 1946 and 1964. Many are parents, and some are grandparents. Most of them are approaching retirement age at the moment. Some Baby Boomers find they have more credit card debt than in recent memory. We will talk about why in the following article. We'll also answer the question, does debt consolidation hurt your credit, since consolidating debt can help some Boomers.
The Pandemic
The pandemic caused a situation where some Baby Boomers who were close to retiring couldn't work. With many companies shut down, some of them didn't have the capability of working from home.
Because of that, they had to eat into the savings they were stockpiling for their upcoming retirement. Consequently, some don't have as much money saved up now. Some are still retiring, but as they're doing that, they don't have the nest egg for which they were hoping.
Many of these Baby Boomers are retiring with very little money saved up. They can still collect Social Security, but that's hardly enough to live a lavish lifestyle.
That's not stopping some of them from spending beyond their means. Some have reached the point where they're using credit cards to take expensive vacations, and they're buying costly items, even if they don't know whether they can ever pay that money back.
Some are spending recklessly with little thought for their futures. If these individuals live for another 20-30 years, they might see significant repercussions for their actions in the not-too-distant future.
Inflation
Inflation is also causing some Baby Boomers to spend more money right now. Even those who still have a frugal mindset see little choice but to use credit cards if they have bills and don't have the money in savings to cover them.
Inflation means the cost of goods and services is increasing. Some older adults with little or no savings don't get enough from Social Security to cover their basic living expenses. In these situations, it makes sense they would get into trouble with credit card debt.
Debt Consolidation
All this is leading some Baby Boomers to look into debt consolidation more than ever before. Debt consolidation means getting a loan from one entity that you can use to pay back all your other outstanding debts.
Some older adults are a little nervous about doing this.
By The Associated Press, Copyright 2023