{"id":61,"date":"2015-11-17T19:22:52","date_gmt":"2015-11-17T19:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/?p=61"},"modified":"2016-04-22T13:38:11","modified_gmt":"2016-04-22T13:38:11","slug":"retail-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/2015\/11\/17\/retail-story\/","title":{"rendered":"How Shoppers Racked Up Debt Over The Decades"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Whether it&#8217;s gifts, decorations, food or travel, spending is unavoidable during the holidays. The pressure to buy can push families to spend money they don\u2019t have. The average American carries nearly $10,000\u00a0in credit card debt. For the average Texan, it&#8217;s $6,600. From department store charge accounts to wallets full of plastic, explore how retail has changed over the past seven decades.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_56\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 5760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-56 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday32.jpg\" alt=\"Shoppers walk through Christmas aisles at Walmart in Dallas. Photographed on Monday, November 16, 2015. Photo\/Lara Solt\" width=\"5760\" height=\"3840\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday32.jpg 5760w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday32-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday32-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday32-1360x907.jpg 1360w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday32-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday32-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5760px) 100vw, 5760px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 5760px\" >Shoppers walk through Christmas aisles at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n<h4>1945-1960s: The era before\u00a0credit card debt<\/h4>\n<p>In 1945, Bing Crosby released 10 tracks of yuletide cheer and optimism with his famous album, <em>Merry Christmas<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>It came out the same year World War II ended. The post-war American economy was glowing. Through the 1950s and &#8217;60s, wages were steadily rising, and people were ready to spend &#8212; especially during the holidays.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_48\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-48 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday24-300x194.jpg\" alt=\"Cashier Kamilla Fletcher helps customers in the checkout line at Walmart in Dallas. Photographed on Monday, November 16, 2015. Photo\/Lara Solt\" width=\"300\" height=\"194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday24-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday24-1024x662.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday24-1360x880.jpg 1360w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday24-800x518.jpg 800w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday24-450x291.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" >Cashier Kamilla Fletcher helps customers in the checkout line at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Some cautious consumers put items on layaway. Some opened Christmas Club accounts at their local bank, putting aside a few dollars a week.<\/p>\n<p>A lot of shoppers took a different approach, said Louis Hyman, a\u00a0professor of business history at Cornell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe all hear how our parents and grandparents never borrowed any money, but they borrowed all the time,&#8221; Hyman says. &#8220;They just borrowed in different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Back in the 1950s, there wasn&#8217;t\u00a0credit card debt as we know it today, just department store charge accounts people paid off each month.<\/p>\n<p>In the postwar era, Hyman says, department store credit was the status quo for the middle class.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch: An educational film about credit from the 1950s<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"900\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/o7zo4Gl_jyU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"quotemark \">Wages just kept going up and up and up. So that if you borrowed today, you could expect to make more in the future.<div class=\"quote-source\">Louis Hyman, professor of business history at Cornell<\/div><div class=\"quote-rating-0\"><\/div><\/div>\n<h4>The\u00a01970s: Credit Kept Customers Loyal<\/h4>\n<p>\u201cIn the 1950s, &#8217;60s, &#8217;70s, &#8217;80s even, the credit you received was tied to a particular store,&#8221; Hyman said.\u00a0&#8220;So for instance you could get your Neiman Marcus card and you could shop at Neiman Marcus. And Neiman Marcus didn\u2019t take other kind of credit card. This was true until the late 1970s.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hyman says that kind of credit card kept customers loyal and coming back. And because the American economy was growing, families could generally\u00a0pay those bills at the end of the month.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWages just kept going up and up and up,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So that if you borrowed today, you could expect to make more in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Things started to change in the 1970s.\u00a0Namely, wages stalled for the average worker \u2013 usually the man of the house.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_42\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 5580px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-42 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday18.jpg\" alt=\"Employees Leslie Luna (left) and Kenya Phelps (right) straighten the TV display at Walmart in Dallas. Photographed on Monday, November 16, 2015. Photo\/Lara Solt\" width=\"5580\" height=\"3696\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday18.jpg 5580w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday18-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday18-1024x678.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday18-1360x901.jpg 1360w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday18-800x530.jpg 800w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday18-450x298.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5580px) 100vw, 5580px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 5580px\" >Employees Leslie Luna, left, and Kenya Phelps straighten the TV display at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cAnd for about 15, 20 years, that effect was hidden,&#8221; Hyman said.\u00a0&#8220;Because it was exactly that moment when women began to enter the workforce in huge numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So household\u00a0incomes were still going up, at least in the &#8217;70s, which meant people could still keep up with those department store credit accounts.<\/p>\n<p>In 1977, folks were carrying an average credit card balance of $330, according to the Federal Reserve. But many people still didn\u2019t even have\u00a0credit cards.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch: American Express commercial from the 1960s<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"900\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EW1ab82biDI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"quotemark \">If you think back to watching &#8216;Pretty Woman,&#8217; there\u2019s this exciting moment where Julia Roberts has access to a credit card and it\u2019s a sign of her affluence.<div class=\"quote-source\">Louis Hyman, professor of business history at Cornell<\/div><div class=\"quote-rating-0\"><\/div><\/div>\n<h4>The 1980s: Interest Rates Skyrocket<\/h4>\n<p>Fast forward to the next decade, and consumer spending changes dramatically.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo there\u2019s a big recession in the 1980s and interest rates go way up,&#8221; Hyman said. &#8220;After those interest rates fall, credit card companies find they can still charge people very high interest rates, so they\u2019re able to lend to more and more riskier clients.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the late &#8217;80s, credit cards were making their way into the mainstream. About a third of families still didn\u2019t have them..<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you think back to watching <em>Pretty Woman<\/em>, there\u2019s this exciting moment where Julia Roberts has access to a credit card and it\u2019s a sign of her affluence,&#8221; Hyman said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The stores aren&#8217;t nice to people; I don&#8217;t like it,&#8221; Richard Gere says in the movie from 1990. &#8220;Stores are never nice to people; they&#8217;re nice to credit cards.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Words of wisdom from Gere. Soon after that came securitization:\u00a0the process of bundling and selling debt. That meant credit cards for pretty much everyone.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch: MasterCard commercial from the 1980s<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"900\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FnNq-UGhVrc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h4>The 1990s-2000s:\u00a0Plastic Boom, And Then Bust<\/h4>\n<p>By the &#8217;90s, holiday shopping was all about the plastic.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_55\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-55 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday31-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"A selection of Christmas gift cards at Walmart in Dallas. Photographed on Monday, November 16, 2015. Photo\/Lara Solt\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday31-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday31-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday31-1360x907.jpg 1360w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday31-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday31-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 300px\" >A selection of Christmas gift cards at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cAnd really the class signification of credit cards begins to change: from one of prosperity, to one of financial insecurity,\u201d Hyman said.<\/p>\n<p>That meant in 1998, average credit card debt was close to $4,100.<\/p>\n<p>The recession hit in 2008. And many lower-income people who\u2019d relied on credit cards to holiday shop couldn\u2019t get approved anymore.<\/p>\n<p>Big box stores like Kmart and Walmart had a solution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s after this moment that we see the return of layaway,&#8221; Hyman said.\u00a0&#8220;Big retailers roll it back in style.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hyman said when hot toys and electronics were scarce, layaway made sense. Now that stores have a seemingly endless supply of merchandise, he\u2019s not a fan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s actually really expensive,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how he explains it: If you decide to buy a toy for\u00a0$100\u00a0on layaway in mid-October, you\u2019ll need to put about $10 down and pay a $5 fee to hold your purchase.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo $90 borrowed, $5 fee. Two months,&#8221; he says. &#8220;Gives you an annual percentage rate of 44 percent. Now that\u2019s about double what you would get on a credit card.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_52\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 5760px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-52 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday28.jpg\" alt=\"Christmas trees on display at Walmart in Dallas. Photographed on Monday, November 16, 2015. Photo\/Lara Solt\" width=\"5760\" height=\"3840\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday28.jpg 5760w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday28-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday28-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday28-1360x907.jpg 1360w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday28-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday28-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5760px) 100vw, 5760px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 5760px\" >Christmas trees are on display at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/p><\/div>\n<p>With Apple watches, X-boxes and Doc McStuffin dolls, there are plenty of gifts to go around. Paying\u00a0for them? That\u2019s a different story.<\/p>\n<p>Shopping can be tricky these days. Layaway will cost you, and unless you pay off credit cards in a few short months, that interest will pile up fast. Also, job security can be shaky and wages are flat.<\/p>\n<p>Hyman said the best bets are always advance planning and a savings account. And, sometimes, you just have to say &#8220;no.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUltimately, there are limits to how much we can let our heart decide on our spending,&#8221; Hyman says. &#8220;You know we have to be grownups. I think kids after all want parents&#8217; love, they don\u2019t just want the newest gizmo.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"quotemark \">Ultimately, there are limits to how much we can let our heart decide on our spending. You know we have to be grownups. I think kids after all want parents&#8217; love, they don\u2019t just want the newest gizmo.<div class=\"quote-source\">Louis Hyman, professor of business history at Cornell<\/div><div class=\"quote-rating-0\"><\/div><\/div>\n<!-- meta slider -->\n<div style=\"max-width: 700px;\" class=\"metaslider metaslider-flex metaslider-71 ml-slider\">\n    \n    <div id=\"metaslider_container_71\">\n        <div id=\"metaslider_71\">\n            <ul class=\"slides\">\n                <li style=\"display: block; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-53 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday29-700x450.jpg\" height=\"450\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-71 slide-53\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">A Texas Longhorns Christmas tree at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-54 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday30-700x450.jpg\" height=\"450\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-71 slide-54\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Shelves stocked Christmas paper and bags at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-51 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday27-700x450.jpg\" height=\"450\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-71 slide-51\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Shelves stocked with toys at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-49 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday25-700x450.jpg\" height=\"450\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-71 slide-49\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Bob Roe walks out with Christmas cards, a Christmas tree and ornaments while shopping at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-47 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday23-700x450.jpg\" height=\"450\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-71 slide-47\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Cashier Lisa Deamon helps customers in the checkout line at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-45 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday21-700x450.jpg\" height=\"450\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-71 slide-45\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Elmo dolls, a popular holiday item, on display at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-46 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday22-700x450.jpg\" height=\"450\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-71 slide-46\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Checkout lines decorated with Christmas bears at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-44 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday20-700x450.jpg\" height=\"450\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-71 slide-44\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">A selection of children's bicycles on display at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-43 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday19-700x450.jpg\" height=\"450\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-71 slide-43\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">The Keurig coffee maker is on display at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-41 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday17-700x450.jpg\" height=\"450\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-71 slide-41\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Abby Hernandez, 2, shopped with her mother and grandmother at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-40 ms-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2015\/11\/OneCrisisAwayHoliday16-700x450.jpg\" height=\"450\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-71 slide-40\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\">Bob Roe looks for Christmas cards after selecting a Christmas tree and ornaments while shopping at Walmart in Dallas. Photo\/Lara Solt<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n            <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        var metaslider_71 = function($) {\n            $('#metaslider_71').addClass('flexslider'); \/\/ theme\/plugin conflict avoidance\n            $('#metaslider_71').flexslider({ \n                slideshowSpeed:3000,\n                animation:\"fade\",\n                controlNav:true,\n                directionNav:true,\n                pauseOnHover:true,\n                direction:\"horizontal\",\n                reverse:false,\n                animationSpeed:600,\n                prevText:\"&lt;\",\n                nextText:\"&gt;\",\n                slideshow:true\n            });\n        };\n        var timer_metaslider_71 = function() {\n            var slider = !window.jQuery ? window.setTimeout(timer_metaslider_71, 100) : !jQuery.isReady ? window.setTimeout(timer_metaslider_71, 1) : metaslider_71(window.jQuery);\n        };\n        timer_metaslider_71();\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n<!--\/\/ meta slider-->\n<h4>A Look At Credit Cards Through The Years<\/h4>\n<div class=\"bullets tick black\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In 1970, more than 50 percent of U.S. households had at least one credit card. Revolving credit totaled $5.1 billion and accounted for 3.8 percent of total consumer credit outstanding.<\/li>\n<li>By 1977, 63 percent of households had credit cards. Revolving credit increased to $39.3 billion.<\/li>\n<li>As of 2010, 68 percent of families had one or more credit cards. More than 150 million customers held about 520 million credit cards. Nearly 40 percent of families with credit cards did not pay off their full balance.<\/li>\n<li>In 2011, revolving credit totaled $847 billion and accounted for 32 percent of consumer credit outstanding. Customers used bank cards for more than 22 billion transactions, resulting in purchases valued at $2.1 billion.<\/li>\n<li>In Texas last year, the typical borrower had $6,646 in credit card debt, according to the <a href=\"http:\/\/scorecard.assetsandopportunity.org\/latest\/measure\/average-credit-card-debt\">Corporation for Enterprise Development&#8217;s Assets &amp; Opportunity Scorecard.<\/a> That&#8217;s compared to the national average of about $10,000.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div>\n<p><em>Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.federalreserve.gov\/pubs\/bulletin\/2013\/pdf\/consumer-experiences-with-credit-cards-201312.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Federal Reserve<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/scorecard.assetsandopportunity.org\/latest\/state\/tx\">CFED Assets and Opportunities Scorecard<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whether it&#8217;s gifts, decorations, food or travel, spending is unavoidable&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":50,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"audio","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61","post","type-post","status-publish","format-audio","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-one-crisis-away-at-the-holidays","post_format-post-format-audio","byline-courtney-collins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61\/revisions\/136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}