About two-thirds of those with credit card debt have delayed or avoided other financial decisions because of the debt, according to a new Bankrate survey.

Bankrate senior industry analyst Ted Rossman said the new suvey was crafted to discover how Americans are affected by credit card debt.

“What we tried to do here was get a little deeper under the hood,” he said.

About half of credit card holders carry debt from month to month. Rossman called it “a kitchen table economics issue” that’s affecting a lot of households.

Gen Xers have the most credit card debt, but it’s younger people who are more likely to cut back on things. Rossman said millennials and Gen Zers are facing more “household formation costs,” like getting married, having kids or buying or renting a house.

He said credit card debt, for many folks, tracks back to the higher cost of living over the last several years.

“Contrary to some of what you might hear, people don’t usually get into credit card debt for frivolous reasons. It’s not usually a vacation or shopping spree. It’s usually either an emergency expense … and then No. 2 is just day-to-day expenses,” Rossman said.

Credit card balances fell 17% from the end of 2019 to the beginning of 2021 as people spent less and had more money coming in from government stimulus checks, he said.

“Ever since Q1 of 2021, these balances have been off to the races,” Rossman said. “And the rate of change was highest in the first couple of years. It’s slowed a little bit since.”

Credit card balances are 57% higher today than they were four years ago, Rossman said, citing data from the New York Fed. He said Americans are dealing with a record amount of credit card debt, $1.2 trillion, again citing the New York Fed.

The new Bankrate survey, published Wednesday, showed how credit card debt is affecting people daily.

Are people holding back on certain purchases? They are. How is this affecting their finances?

“We found that the cutbacks are significant,” Rossman said.

Sixty-four percent of credit card debtors have delayed or avoided other financial decisions because of credit card debt. Other findings include:

About a third of credit card debtors have put off creating an emergency savings fund.

About a quarter have delayed investments.

Around a fifth have postponed a car purchase.

Around the same share have avoided helping friends and family.

Over a third of credit card debtors have delayed spending on health care and wellness combined.

Rossman said he was surprised how many credit card debtors are putting off self-care through health and wellness spending.

Bankrate found 13% of credit card debtors have delayed buying a house. Some folks have put off education, job searches, marriage and children.

The average credit card rate is around 20%. Rossman said it’s typically a household’s highest-cost debt, about $6,600, according to TransUnion data.

If you make minimum payments at 20%, you’ll be in debt for more than 18 years and pay about $9,600 in interest, he said.

“That gap between the half who pay their cards in full every month and the half who don’t, that’s really widened,” he said.

Rossman said paying down credit card debt takes more care and attention than other personal finance efforts, such as building up savings. But he said folks who find themselves in debt can take action.

People can apply for a 0% balance-transfer card that can pause the interest clock for up to 21 months. U.S. Bank introduced a new card that extends that to two full years. You’ll need to pay off the debt in that two-year window if you want to avoid interest payments.

“Still love the 0% balance transfer approach,” Rossman said.

Nonprofit credit counseling is another good option, especially if you have a lower credit score or a lot of debt, he said.

Rossman mentioned Money Management International and GreenPath as options there. MMI said in January that it had seen a 35% increase in new clients seeking financial counseling. And the growing need for financial counseling was driven by young adults.

MMI saw 48% annual growth in clients in their 20s. Most of the clients MMI works with haven’t created a formal budget to understand what’s coming in and what’s going out, MMI financial educator Thomas Nitzsche previously said.

If you do fall behind, talk to your creditors, Nitzsche said. A lot of creditors have hardship programs in place, or they’ll work with a debt management group, such as MMI, to reduce interest rates.

An average client is with MMI for about four years before the debt on their management plan is eliminated, he said.

Have a news tip? Contact Cory Smith at corysmith@sbgtv.com or at x.com/Cory_L_Smith.