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6 signs you need credit card debt forgiveness this October
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Credit card debt is a growing problem nationwide, with the total amount of credit card debt recently surpassing $1.14 trillion — a record high. This uptick is being driven by a range of factors, including lingering inflationary pressures, which have caused the cost of consumer goods like groceries and fuel to climb over the last few years. As a result, more Americans are using their credit cards to help cover their basic expenses, with the average credit cardholder now owing roughly $8,000, and a large number of cardholders owing much more than that.
Credit card interest rates are also sitting at nearly 23% on average, the highest rate on record, which means that it’s easy for credit card debt to spiral out of control right now due to interest charges. After all, when you’re carrying a large revolving card balance, the compounding interest can easily turn manageable debt into an insurmountable financial burden.
As your credit card debt grows, it can make sense to consider measures like credit card debt forgiveness, also known as debt settlement. This strategy involves negotiating with creditors to reduce your total balance in return for a lump-sum payment, allowing you to pay back a portion of the debt instead of the full amount you owe. But credit card debt forgiveness isn’t right for everyone, so when should you consider taking this step? Below, we’ll explain why it could be beneficial this October.
Start eliminating your credit card debt here now.
6 signs you need credit card debt forgiveness this October
Here are some key signs that you may need credit card debt forgiveness this October:
You can’t afford the minimum payments
One of the first warning signs that you may need credit card debt forgiveness is when you can no longer afford to make the minimum payments on your cards. Minimum payments are typically a small percentage of your total balance, but when even these payments are unaffordable, it signals a severe financial issue. Failing to meet these minimum obligations leads to late fees, increased interest rates and a significant drop in your credit score, so if you’ve reached a point where making even the smallest required payments feels impossible, debt forgiveness might be a more sustainable solution.
See which debt relief options you can use to get rid of your credit card debt.
Your credit card balances are growing despite your payments
You may notice that your credit card balances continue to grow due to high interest rates even with regular payments on the account. This is a common problem for people stuck with significant debt and high APRs. If your balances are rising faster than you can pay them down, it’s a sign that you’re not making enough progress toward debt elimination. In such cases, debt forgiveness may help to reduce your overall balance, giving you a chance to pay off the debt in a manageable way.
You’re using credit cards for everyday necessities
When you start relying on credit cards to cover your basic necessities like groceries, utilities and gas, it may be time to reconsider your financial strategy. Using credit to pay for essentials often means you’re living beyond your means, as you’re accumulating debt for everyday expenses that should ideally be covered by your income. This can quickly lead to an unsustainable financial situation. If you’re trapped in this cycle, debt forgiveness might be the relief you need to regain control of your finances.
You’re receiving collection calls
Frequent calls from creditors or collection agencies are a clear indication that your debt has reached a critical stage. Once your accounts are sent to collections, your credit score takes a significant hit, and the stress of dealing with debt collectors can become overwhelming. If you’re receiving these calls regularly, it may be time to explore debt forgiveness as a way to resolve your financial troubles and put an end to the constant harassment from creditors.
You’ve tried other options without success
Many people try other avenues to manage their credit card debt before considering debt forgiveness, such as balance transfers, debt consolidation or simply cutting back on expenses. If you’ve tried multiple strategies and still find yourself sinking deeper into debt, it may be time to look into more aggressive solutions. Debt forgiveness, while it does come with credit score implications, can offer a clean slate and a chance to get out of a debt trap when other methods have failed.
You’re at risk of bankruptcy
If your debt has become so overwhelming that you’re considering bankruptcy, debt forgiveness could be a less drastic alternative. While both debt settlement and bankruptcy have negative impacts on your credit score, bankruptcy can stay on your credit report for up to 10 years. Debt forgiveness, on the other hand, may allow you to resolve your financial issues without the long-term stigma and legal complications associated with bankruptcy.
The bottom line
Credit card debt can become overwhelming quickly, especially in today’s economic environment where credit card interest rates are high and costs of living are problematic. If you’re experiencing any of the signs listed above, it may be time to consider credit card debt forgiveness as a potential solution. By pursuing this option now, you can negotiate with your creditors, reduce your debt burden and start working toward financial recovery.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a new way for Americans to look up how high or low levels of viruses like COVID-19 and flu are in their local area for 2024.
This year’s new “community snapshot” is the CDC’s latest attempt to repackage its data in one place for Americans deciding when to take extra precautions recommended in its guidelines, like masking or testing, going into the fall and winter.
It centers around a sweeping new weekly metric called “acute respiratory illness.” The metric’s debut fulfills a goal laid out by agency officials months ago, aiming to measure the risk of COVID-19 alongside other germs that spread through the air on a single scale from “minimal” to “very high.”
“The biggest thing we’re trying to do here is not just to have a dashboard. It’s not just putting a bunch of information in front of people and kind of expecting them to navigate all of that,” the CDC’s Captain Matthew Ritchey told CBS News.
Ritchey, who co-leads the team that coordinates data fed into the snapshots, said the CDC gathers experts from across the agency every Thursday to walk through the week’s data coming from hospitals and emergency rooms, wastewater sampling and testing laboratories.
“All those groups come together, talking through their different data systems and their expertise to say, ‘this is what’s catching my eye.’ And then that’s what we want to tee up for the public,” he said.
Ritchey cited early signs of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, starting to increase this season as expected in Florida, which is called out at the top of this week’s report.
Behind the CDC’s new “respiratory illness” metric
Based on emergency room data, the “acute respiratory illness” metric, grades overall infections in each state or county from “minimal” to “very high.”
That is defined broadly to capture infections from COVID-19 and influenza, as well as a range of other diseases that spread through the air like whooping cough or pneumonia.
A previous definition the agency had relied on called “influenza-like illness” had been too narrow, Ritchey said, with requirements like fever which excluded many patients.
A separate set of standalone levels is still being calculated each week for COVID-19, influenza and RSV.
The formula behind those levels is based on historical peaks and valleys in emergency room trends, which were analyzed from each state.
“We’ve looked over the last couple of years and understand the low points of the year, based on our lab testing, and at that point we say, that’s the baseline or ‘minimal’ category,” said Ritchey.
How to see what COVID variants are dominant
Not all of the CDC’s data made the cutoff to be included on the first layer of the agency’s new snapshot.
For example, while the front page for the general public does mention current SARS-CoV-2 variants like XEC, details about its prevalence remain on a separate webpage deeper into the CDC’s website.
“That whole jumble of lots of acronyms or letters and things like that just don’t overly resonate with them,” he said.
For flu, the CDC is still publishing more detailed weekly updates designed for experts, through the agency’s “FluView” reports.
Those include a weekly breakdown of the “type” – influenza A or B – and “subtype” – like H3N2 or H1N1 – that is being reported to the agency from testing laboratories.
Health authorities closely watch trends in flu subtyping as well, since they can help explain changes in the severity of the virus as well as vaccine effectiveness.
Future changes to come
The snapshot remains a work in progress as the CDC gathers feedback from the public as well as local health departments.
“We have a continuum of users, from the public health practitioner to my parents, providing feedback on how they’re using it. More often, the feedback we get is, ‘hey, I use this to help inform how I work, or talk with my elderly parents,'” he said.
One big change coming later this season is the resumption of nationwide hospitalization data, after a pandemic-era requirement for hospitals to report the figures to the federal government lapsed.
A new rule by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to start collecting the data again for COVID-19, influenza and RSV is due to take effect in November.
“As that data starts to come in again and gets to a robust enough level, the plan is that it would be incorporated on the site as well,” he said.
Another long term goal is to add information specific to other respiratory illness culprits beyond COVID-19, influenza and RSV.
“We want to be able to talk about maybe some of the other things that are not the big three as well, like mycoplasma and some of those other things too, that we know peak during certain parts of the season,” he said.
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