TAMPA, FL (WFLA) – A new report is a painful reminder about the pitfalls of carrying too much debt.
Sixty-eight percent of U.S. adults who responded to a recent survey say they’re not confident they’ll ever be able to pay off their debt.
The CreditCards.com survey found that people who take out payday loans and have medical debts are the most pessimistic about repaying the obligations. Half of those in each group anticipated carrying their debt until they die. Those who owe money on credit cards, student loans, mortgages and auto loans feel better about their repayment prospects.
Pessimism about living debt-free is abundant and increases with age. Of those carrying debt:
- 65 percent of millennials (ages 18-36) either don’t know when they’ll pay it off or think they never will.
- 68 percent of Generation X (37-52) doubt their abilities to ever get out of debt
- 70 percent of baby boomers (53-71) doubt their abilities to ever get out of debt
- 83 percent of the Silent Generation (72+) doubt their abilities to ever get out of debt
Of those who do see light at the end of the tunnel and who offered an estimate of how soon they would escape debt, the average debtor expects to have everything paid off in nine years.
1,114 U.S. adults participated in the survey from Dec. 21-22, 2017. Learn more here.