Credit Repair Blog

The Credit Crunch and the Average American

The New York Times had a recent article about how credit card companies are passing their costs of lending on to consumers (no surprise there).  Some of the interesting items from the article include:

• Subprime, or bad credit consumers are not the only ones getting hit.  American Express (who typically issues credit cards to consumers and businesses with good credit) is raising their interest rates by several percentage points.
• Credit card issuers are scaling back their reward programs.
• Promotional offers (like 6 months at zero interest) are being cut or eliminated.
• (This is a good one from our perspective!) Credit card companies are cutting back on their mailings.  Have you noticed that your mailbox includes fewer offers for credit cards?

The bottom line is that the credit crunch of 2008 is affecting Americans of all walks of life.  Tighten your belts.  Raise your credit scores.  Do what ever you can to save money on credit!