In research for my upcoming book, been looking at statistics on credit card debt
Why credit card debt is not just an income or age issue
3 ways to avoid credit card debt
Why I don't own a credit card
Quote of the lesson from Mark Cuban

In doing some research for my upcoming book, on how debt free people think, I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on debt statistics. Recently I did some research on credit card debt and the recent surveys and statistics coming out in regards to credit cards and their usage are quite startling.
Gallup found in 2014 that 71% of Americans own at least one credit card [1]
As of March 2016 38.1% of households that have a credit card have a balance at the end of each month with an average debt of $16,000 [2]
Among all US households the average credit card debt as of 2016 is $6,184.16 [3]
Among those who carry a credit card balance the average household will pay $1,292 in interest [4]
Total Outstanding US Credit Card is $762 billion[5]
Credit card ownership by Age:Age Range    Percent that own a credit card18-24               67% 25-34               83% 35-49               76% 50+                  78%
56% of Undergraduate students owned a credit card in 2016
Credit Card Debt by Age as of 2016Age Range    Average Credit Card Debt 18-34               $5,808 35-44               $8,235 45-54               $9,096 55-64               $8,158 65+                  $6,351
Average Credit Card Debt by Income as of 2016Income Range           Average Credit Card Debt< $25,000                    $3,000 $25,000 to $44,999    $3,900 $45,000 to $69,999    $4,900 $70,000 to $114,999  $5,800 $115,000 to $159,999 $8,300 $160,000+                   $11,200
Average annual credit card interest cost by household income in 2016Annual Income Range    Average annual interest paid Less than $21,432                   $677.43 $21,432-$41,186                     $839.60 $41,187-$68,212                     $1,135.91 $68,213-$112,262                   $1,303.76 $112,263-$157,479                 $1,882.85 More than $157,490                $2,515.05
Annual credit interest paid by employment status in 2016Employment Status        Average annual interest paid Employee                                $1,210.58 Self-employed                        $1,630.84 Retired                                    $1,321.84 Other, not working                  $1,554.57
Average Credit Card Debt by GenderGender        Average Credit Card DebtMale            $7,407 Female        $5,245
What does this information tells us? What I noticed was that credit card debt isn’t just a thing for those who don’t make a lot of money or are young. There are people in their 50’s and 60’s and those make well over six figures that have credit card debt.
The fact that we as a nation have $762 Billion in credit card debt is absurd. So today’s show I share ways to avoid credit card debt in the first place. On the surface they might seem basic, but a lot of times when it comes to personal finance, basic is usually the best answ