With inflation at record levels, making ends meet has become increasingly challenging for Americans. As of June 2022, consumer prices are up 9.1% year over year, which is the largest increase in four decades, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Given this reality, it’s no surprise that debt among Americans is also surging. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently reported that household debt for the second quarter of 2022 increased by $312 billion to a total of $16.5 trillion. For perspective, that’s $2 trillion higher than the end of 2019—just before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged and brought with it a whole host of economic challenges.
