Saving & Debt
Saving & Debt is a data page on the Personal Finance desk of Glassbox Auditing. How much Americans save, what credit cards cost and how many balances go unpaid, what share of income goes to debt payments, and where the average household's money goes (BLS spending survey), with a card payoff calculator. Household saving and borrowing set how much spending the economy can count on.
Last updated: .
What is on this page today?
- Personal saving rate: 3.8% in September 2026 — Share of after-tax income households did not spend · a year earlier 5.1% (BEA, 29 Sep 2026)
- Revolving consumer credit stood at $1.37T in September 2026, 0.5% up on a year earlier after inflation — Loans that can be borrowed and repaid again, mostly credit cards, in September 2026 dollars (deflated by the consumer price index) · a year earlier $1.36T (Federal Reserve Board, 29 Sep 2026)
- Credit card interest rate: 22.36% in August 2026 — Average rate on accounts charged interest at commercial banks · a year earlier 22.83% (Federal Reserve Board, 30 Aug 2026)
- Required debt payments took 11.1% of disposable income in Q2 2026 — Mortgages and consumer debt (cards, car loans, student loans) · a year earlier 11.1% · average since 2005 12.4% (Federal Reserve Board, 29 Jun 2026)
- Housing took 33.9% of the average U.S. household's $81,905 of spending in 2025 — Average yearly spending per consumer unit; the change is against 2015 · total spending +46% since 2015 (+8% after inflation) (BLS (Consumer Expenditure Surveys), 30 Dec 2025)
Where does the data come from?
Items on this page come from BEA; Federal Reserve Board; BLS (Consumer Expenditure Surveys). Each item links to its own source. All sources, how items are checked.
What does this page lead to?
- Household Finances (Macro): The national saving rate and card balances are the country-wide view of the household debt and late payments that the Household Finances page breaks down state by state. (moves the same way; same quarter; economy scale) Source: FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis).
- Business Activity (Macro): When households save a larger share of income, less of it reaches stores and services, so a rising saving rate tends to show up as softer retail sales in the Census business indicators. (moves the other way; 1-3 months; economy scale) Source: FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis).
What feeds this page?
- Labor Market (Macro): Borrowers fall behind most when jobs are lost: the banks' card delinquency rate rose through 2008 into 2009 as unemployment climbed, so a stronger job market tends to lower the late card balances on Saving & Debt. (moves the other way; quarters; economy scale) Source: FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis).