credit cardsConsumer credit card debt is a bellwether for the overall economy’s health. With that in mind, it may seem to be very good news to hear that Americans repaid $40.3 billion in credit card debt during the first three months of 2018 — the second-highest payoff ever — but considering that the year started with consumers owing more than $1 trillion in credit card debt for first time ever, the news is somewhat less cheery.

Only four times in the past three decades have we overspent so much in a year and, in each case, the charge-off rate — currently near historical lows — rose the following year.


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