Some consumers — the most fortunate among us — manage to save money just fine, while keeping troublesome debt levels at bay at the same time.
Others, conversely, neither save much nor tap into their credit cards to an extent that causes them to lose sleep at night. For them, personal finances are essentially a wash — nothing much to speak of on either side of the ledger.
And then there are those people in Texas and elsewhere across the country whose ledger is askew and who do worry about the family balance sheet.
In fact, and as regards the battle between credit card debt and emergency savings, many millions of Americans are far from being on the plus side.
In fact, many of them are wallowing in debt, unable to save at all, and seemingly one step away from what one recent article on personal finances terms “financial disaster.”
The reason, as pointed out in that media report: Too many of them are “relying on credit cards when disaster strikes.”
Of course, that creates — and then fuels — a pernicious cycle of ever-growing debt, especially when an individual or family doesn’t have savings on hand to take care of things like unexpected medical debt, monthly student loan obligations or a pricey car repair.
The national financial services company Bankrate.com states that nearly one-fourth of all American consumers have a negative balance when it comes to emergency savings versus credit card obligations.
That is, cards trump.
And that is, obviously, a mine field for many consumers, especially as the country continues to work its way back toward economic prosperity in the wake of recent recessionary times.
Consumers with severe financial challenges have viable options for dealing with those constraints, including multiple forms of bankruptcy relief. A proven debt-relief attorney can point out options and work together with a client seeking a fresh financial start.