It sometimes feels like everyone uses credit cards almost all of the time. But this is certainly something of a new phenomenon, and there are still big differences in the ways that various generations view and use these cards.
Considering the fact that credit cards often factor heavily into bankruptcy cases, this is something that’s worth considering. You may be surprised about which age group uses them the most.
The most cards
First of all, it’s been shown that Baby Boomers are the generation who has the most physical cards. They tend to have about 4.5-4.6 cards per person. This is far more than the 1.9 held by Generation Z. It’s also more than the 3.2 held by Millennials in 2021.
For what it’s worth, the number of cards people have has been tending to go up. For instance, it was 1.9 for Gen Z in the first quarter of 2021, but they had increased to 2.1 by the first quarter of 2022. This trend can be seen in all age groups except the Silent Generation – parents of Baby Boomers – which declined from 3.5 to 3.4.
The highest balance
What is interesting is that Gen X actually has a higher average balance than Baby Boomers. It is slightly over $7,000, whereas Baby Boomers are just over $6,000. Millennials then come in at around $5,000, the Silent Generation has roughly $3,000 and Gen Z has the lowest totals, with just about $2,500 on average.
This is interesting, but I could also just mean that older individuals tend to have higher limits on their cards. Someone in Gen Z could be only 25 years old – at most – so they may still be a relatively new card holder with a low limit. It is also true that some members of Gen Z are as young as nine years old and cannot legally have credit cards yet, so the study just looks at the half of the generation that can actually get these cards.
Are you facing bankruptcy?
No matter which category you fit into, if you’re facing outstanding debt, be sure you understand your legal options, such as bankruptcy.
